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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does the author claim he feels protective over in the Prologue?
(a) His agent.
(b) The characters.
(c) His mother.
(d) His wife.

2. Who, in "Nervous Condition" does John marry?
(a) A woman his mother's age.
(b) A mean woman.
(c) An oversensitive woman.
(d) His high school sweetheart.

3. What does the man in "An American Holly" do out of frustration?
(a) Rips out the plant.
(b) Cuts the holly into a stick.
(c) Screams and runs down the street.
(d) Pours rat poison on the plant.

4. What does the baby bird in "Soaring" refuse to give his parents satisfaction over?
(a) His achievement.
(b) His birth.
(c) Retirement.
(d) His career.

5. What does the author suggest is the issue with communicating at the start of Part 2?
(a) Technology.
(b) Egos.
(c) Hearing.
(d) Demons.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Faust?

2. What is the name of the bird couple in "Soaring"?

3. In "Projection", what does Billy want to be when he grows up?

4. How does baby bird feel towards his parents in "Soaring"?

5. How do the bird couple in "Soaring" feel about their youngest?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Edwin H. Friedman mean by "The Failure of Syntax"?

2. How does the man's attitude in "An American Holly" change from beginning to end?

3. What do Faust and Oedipus debate in the Interlude?

4. Why does baby bird worry his parents so much?

5. What is the significance of the man crossing the bridge in the story of the "The Bridge"?

6. What advice does the moth give the fly in "Round in Circles"? Why should the moth follow his own advice?

7. Why does Billy act the way he does in "Projection" and why is he frustrated with his parents?

8. What does Cassandra offer to the debate between Faust and Oedipus?

9. How does Edwin H. Friedman suggest people open themselves up to better communication?

10. What does the line "the essential difficulty in trying to communicate with another is how to get past the interference of the resistance demons who inhabit that other" mean?

(see the answer keys)

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