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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How is the weather described when John goes to the cemetery in Chapter 29?
(a) Dry and windy.
(b) Snowing.
(c) Sleeting.
(d) Sunny.

2. What is the name of Dr. Breed's secretary?
(a) Miss Anderson.
(b) Miss Glynn.
(c) Miss Faust.
(d) Miss Ross.

3. Where was the Hoenikker family living at the time that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima?
(a) New Brunswick, New Jersey.
(b) Princeton, New Jersey.
(c) Ithaca, New York.
(d) Ilium, New York.

4. What does John say in Chapter 32 "is what we Bokononists whisper whenever we think of how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is"?
(a) "Qualms are folly."
(b) "No more no more."
(c) "A mystery in the midst."
(d) "Busy, busy, busy."

5. How tall does Newt Hoenikker claim to be in his letter to John?
(a) 5' tall.
(b) 6' tall.
(c) 4' tall.
(d) 3'7" tall.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old was Newt Hoenikker when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima?

2. What is the name of the prostitute that John talks to at the Cape Cod Room in Chapter 10?

3. What is the name of the book that was given to Dr. Felix Hoenikker from a man in prison about the end of the world?

4. How many siblings does Bokonon have?

5. What does the narrator tell the reader to call him in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Lyman Knowles and what does he represent in the novel?

2. What irony can be found in Dr. Breed's discussions of superstition in Chapters 16-18?

3. What statements does the author make about nihilism in Chapter 36?

4. How does Bokononism influence the language style of the novel?

5. How does the narrator describe San Lorenzo's attempt at communism in the narrative?

6. What is significant about Frank's action of staging bug fights in Chapter 6?

7. What is ironic about the scientific work done for the military at the General Forge and Foundry Company?

8. What is significant about the metaphor of cannonballs in the narrative?

9. What aspects of Dr. Hoenikker's character are revealed through Dr. Breed's stories of him in Chapter 14?

10. Describe the narrative style of Cat's Cradle. Why do you think the author employs this style?

(see the answer keys)

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