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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 kind of music does Henry listen to while his parents are away?

2. What kind of bar is Bar O?

3. What is the name of the woman who checks to see if Henry is okay?

4. What is the name of Laura's street?

5. What does Laura say Willie throws at them when they get drunk?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Willie's death affect the girls?

2. How does Henry lose his job at the dog biscuit factory?

3. Summarize the fourth section.

4. How does Henry meet Gertrude?

5. What does Henry do while his parents are away?

6. How does a relationship develop between Henry and Gertrude?

7. What is Henry's opinion of New York?

8. What is Henry's first job in New York?

9. How does Martha upset Henry in the second section?

10. Summarize the second section.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the main turning points of the book? How does Bukowski develop his story to get to each turning point? What happens to the story after a major turning point?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the values of the 1940s.

1. In what ways are the characters a product of their time?

2. How does the book express the changes America was going through at the time?

3. Does modern society share any values with 1940s America?

Essay Topic 3

The author wrote FACTOTUM in the first person. Why do you think the author chose to write the story in the first person? How do you think the meaning of the story would change if the author wrote it in the third person?

(see the answer keys)

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