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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Fates Worse Than Death, humorist Kurt Vonnegut examines the blindness of the American people to the hypocrisy of what administration?
(a) Carter Administration.
(b) Reagan Administration.
(c) Clinton Administration.
(d) Smith Administration.

2. What does Vonnegut assert is often Hemingway's male characters' greatest reward?
(a) Becoming enlightened.
(b) Winning a battle.
(c) Males feeling love for one another in proximity to danger.
(d) Winning the heart of a woman.

3. Why is Algren bitter over his masterpiece, The Man with the Golden Arm?
(a) He does not like the how it ends.
(b) He does not think it is a masterpiece.
(c) He fears he will not be able to create another masterpiece.
(d) He receives very little for his masterpiece.

4. Dr. Nancy Andreassen finds that people in what profession tend to be depressive or come from depressive families more often than in the general public?
(a) Medicine.
(b) Painting.
(c) Writing.
(d) Law.

5. The Attorney General's Commission believes that sufferers of what disease get what they deserve?
(a) Heart disease.
(b) AIDS.
(c) Cancer.
(d) Diabetes.

6. What does Vonnegut miss from his youth?
(a) Freedom from knowing humans will render the planet uninhabitable.
(b) The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
(c) Friends from school.
(d) The Fourth of July Fireworks.

7. Vonnegut references what Biblical story to his belief that people find life too hard and disappointing to act on repairing it?
(a) Noah's Ark, as a sinking vessel with half its animals already dead.
(b) Buddha sitting by the tree, but not becoming enlightened.
(c) The Last Supper, with Jesus accusing Mark instead of Judas.
(d) Adam and Eve not taking a bite from the forbidden fruit.

8. What ethnic groups does the Attorney General's Commission label as "terrorists" whenever possible?
(a) Afghanis.
(b) Iraqis.
(c) Israelis.
(d) Palestinians.

9. What mental illness does the author's son suffer and recover from?
(a) Anxiety.
(b) Schizophrenia.
(c) Bipolar disorder.
(d) Depression.

10. What does Pollock use to control his hands when he paints?
(a) A painter's machine.
(b) Intuition.
(c) Ideas from critics.
(d) Early sketches.

11. What is the title of the book Jane writes about raising their kids on Cape Cod?
(a) Angels Without Wings.
(b) My Children, My Angels.
(c) On a Wing and a Prayer.
(d) Angels in Heaven.

12. Besides Indianapolis what other U.S. city is designed by the architect L'Enfant?
(a) Washington, D.C.
(b) Columbus, OH.
(c) Seattle, Washington.
(d) Baltimore, MD.

13. Who translates Vonnegut's requiem into Latin?
(a) Collin P. Miller.
(b) Collin F. Johnson.
(c) Thomas R. Collins.
(d) John F. Collins.

14. Why do psychiatrists believe Mark is a misdiagnosed depressive?
(a) Mark has all the symptoms of someone who is depressed.
(b) They do not believe that one can recover from bipolar disorder.
(c) Mark seems sad.
(d) They do not believe that one can recover from schizophrenia.

15. What art form does Kurt Vonnegut Sr. take up after he retires?
(a) Pottery.
(b) Printmaking.
(c) Sculpture.
(d) Painting .

Short Answer Questions

1. The Reverend finds "Slaughterhouse Five", as well as "Deliverance" and "Catcher in the Rye," falling short in what way?

2. What does Vonnegut's degree in anthropology teach him about villains?

3. What do Vonnegut's grown children jointly own?

4. What is the name of the infant that the Vonneguts adopt?

5. Who buys the lake house but allows Vonnegut and his bride to honeymoon there?

(see the answer keys)

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