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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. When a band member was looking for Buddy, where was he hiding?

2. Nora's mother is a ______.

3. Where is Buddy on a boat?

4. How does Webb find Buddy's music?

5. When does Buddy step out of the marching band?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrative style reflect Buddy's music?

2. What is Buddy's relationship with Nora like?

3. What is the significance of Buddy's hands in Chapter 1?

4. What is the effect of Ondaatje's sentence structures?

5. Does Buddy know or care about how his actions affect people?

6. Why do smart customers come to Buddy early?

7. What does Buddy's world look like?

8. How does Webb feel about Buddy's music?

9. Who does Buddy care about more: Nora or Robin?

10. How do Buddy and Webb approach life differently?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Coming Through Slaughter" is an account of Buddy's slow decent into madness. Discuss Buddy's madness and why he became mad. What is his madness meant to say?

Essay Topic 2

Buddy is often a victim of his own doing. Discuss Buddy's helplessness. What is the cause of this? What role does it play?

Essay Topic 3

Nora is Buddy's wife and the mother of his children. She is the one who reports him missing. Their relationship changes dramatically through the course of the story. Discuss Buddy and Nora's relationship and what about Buddy and the larger themes it provokes.

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