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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. Buddy moved on to become _______.

2. When Webb and Buddy lived together, what did Webb collect?

3. How does Webb find Buddy's music?

4. How is liquor handled in the barbershop?

5. Where did Buddy and Webb work when they were young?

Short Essay Questions

1. Is Buddy crazy?

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

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

4. What is thematically significant about Crawley's interview?

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

6. Why do smart customers come to Buddy early?

7. What do Buddy and Webb have in common? In what ways do they approach life similarly?

8. Why does Ondaatje use the historical references of Bricktop Jackson, "One-Legged Duffy," Rich, Olivia the Oyster Dancer, and French Emma?

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

10. What does Buddy's world look like?

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

Buddy is very concerned with his hands. He is terrified of loosing them but does little to take care of them. Discuss Buddy's preoccupation with his hands. What do they represent? What do they mean to him? What is the symbolism of this?

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