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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. Why is Thompson concerned about his toenails?

2. Why is Thompson angry during "June?"

3. Besides the factory, where else do the candidates go to visit and meet with workers?

4. Fill in the blank: Journalists can only view ______ as being either worthy of respect or derision.

5. In "June," what is significant about drug use among the journalists?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Thompson discuss the progressively more open drug use amongst the journalists?

2. How does Thompson explain the journalistic term "pitch?"

3. In "June," what does Thompson say about lifting material from his past work to incorporate into his newer work?

4. What does Thompson believe about Southern attitudes, particularly in regards to politicians?

5. At the beginning of "July," how does Thompson analyze Wallace's ease as a successful politician?

6. How do the factory workers react to Senator McCarthy?

7. Describe Thompson's initial relationships with the other writers.

8. In what way is Thompson's place in the journalistic world an exercise in class-mixing?

9. In "February & March," why is the 1972 Democratic Nomination campaign particularly stressful?

10. Why do the consultants on the campaign think they need to involve Ted Kennedy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Thompson's experiences on the campaign trail and how he became burnt out on politics in the following format:

Part 1) Thompson's opinions on politicians and how he experienced the cogs of the machine.

Part 2) The drug use.

Part 3) Thompson's sense of displacement.

Part 4) Thompson's support of McGovern and McGovern's crippling loss.

Part 5) Nixon's re-election.

Part 6) Thompson's decision to become a sports writer.

Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the Dakota Queen II and the Zoo Plane. How do the differences between the atmospheres of these two airplanes indicate that the end of the campaign is near? In what ways do their atmospheres signify the general mood of the campaign trail? Why do the journalists indulge as much as they do on the Zoo Plane? Why are all political personnel barred from flying on the Zoo Plane?

Essay Topic 3

How does Hunter S. Thompson feel about politicians? How do politicians generally feel about Thompson? In what way is Thompson's outsider status as a writer for the counter-culture immediately setting him up as an adversary to all politicians? How does this affect his relationship to the Muskie campaign, as well as the McGovern campaign? Why does Frank Mankiewicz attack Thompson? How does all of this figure into Thompson's later declaration that he is going to run for the Senate?

(see the answer keys)

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