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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Kilgore browse through at a book store?

2. What does The Narrator foreshadow about Dwayne and Kilgore?

3. Who commits suicide at the beginning of Chapter 4?

4. Who is Dwayne's secretary?

5. What does Kilgore tell the driver about his now-adult son?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are the relationships between the pets and Kilgore and Dwayne different?

2. Why are the majority of Kilgore's writings in pornographic magazines?

3. How does The Narrator's childhood fear of diseases play into the novel?

4. Why does Dwayne have to stand in line at his own hotel?

5. What is the reason for The Narrator saying his name is Philboyd Studge?

6. What does Dwayne do in Chapter 4 that alludes to his increasing mental instability?

7. What is the difference between Dwayne's personal life and business life?

8. Who asks Kilgore to be a keynote speaker and why?

9. How did Celia, Dwayne's wife, kill herself?

10. What is the plot of the science fiction novel Kilgore comes up with while watching films at the pornography theatre?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

George (Bunny) Hoover and Leo Trout are the sons of the novel's two main protagonists, but minor characters themselves. Using what information is provided on these two sons, write an explanation of how these characters further develop the characters of Dwayne and Kilgore. Do the sons foil one another? Are they alike? How do their characters influence Kilgore and Dwayne? Use specific examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

How is Wayne looking at the people in the hotel lounge through the kitchen's peephole in Chapter 19 similar to exactly what the reader is doing with Breakfast of Champions? What are the events Wayne is watching? What is their significance? Insignificance? Support your answer with specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 22, The Narrator decides to speed up the pace of the narrative. What does he do in order to accomplish this? Does it in any way contradict his previous claim of all characters and details being of equal importance? Support your answer with specific examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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