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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. Which musician does the narrator claim audiences appreciate only because the larger musical world tells them to?

2. How does the schoolgirl react when she realizes that Joey is watching her talk on the phone?

3. How does Joey feel about telling the school girl his true age?

4. What does Joey dream about at the opening of the novel?

5. How long does it take the teacher to convince the contrary student that Slowacki's poetry is, indeed, his favorite?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the principal of Joey's school feel about Pimko's psychological style?

2. Why does Kneadus burst into the Youngblood family home soon after Joey moves in with the family?

3. What type of writers does Joey find most annoying in the literary world?

4. How does the narrator feel about Chopin?

5. What community does the narrator claim is the stupidest community of all, and why?

6. At the opening of the novel, how does Joey feel when he first wakes from sleep?

7. What relationship does Pimko hope will transpire between Joey and Zuta?

8. What career path has Joey chosen for himself, and what is the general consensus from his family?

9. What is Joey's first impression of Zuta when he sees her?

10. How do the school kids respond when they see Pimko spying on them, taking notes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator of this novel often interjects his opinions of what is going on and speaks directly to the reading audience. What is accomplished by employing this type of intrusive narrator? What is lost? As a reader, describe your reaction to reading a narrator like this. What did his opinions add to the novel? What did they distract from? Choose at least two examples of scenes from the text that you believe best exemplify and strengthen your argument and describe those scenes in this essay.

Essay Topic 2

Doctor Pimko is introduced at the opening of the novel as a much different doctor than he is at the end of the novel. First, describe the first scenes in which Pimko is introduced to the reader. How is he treating his patients? Then, compare that to the Doctor Pimko the reader sees at the end of the novel. Choose at least two scenes that you think best exemplify Doctor Pimko's change, and describe these scenes.

Essay Topic 3

At various places in the novel, the prose is broken up with chunks of poetry or quotes from other published authors. First, choose at least two of these quotes from the novel and explain their significance within the story. Then, explain what is accomplished in the novel overall by including these secondary texts. Do you think the goal is accomplished?

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