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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 does Claire have on her back?

2. In Chapter 12, who is said to have disappeared the day after the picnic?

3. In Chapter 4, what does Dag say he is, which is trapped inside a man's body?

4. What is Andy's language of specialty?

5. As Andy recalls in Chapter 4, after Dag won their bet, what did he do with the money?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 7, at what point does Andy say he knows he and Claire would be friends for life?

2. In Chapter 14, what is Claire's theory of a "gripping stranger"?

3. What historical challenge does Dag give to Margaret in Chapter 5?

4. What happens to the Astronaut named Buck when he lands on Texlahoma?

5. At the beginning of the novel, what does Andy recall doing when he was fifteen years old?

6. How and when do Andy and Claire meet?

7. What does Andy tell us about himself in Chapter 9?

8. In Dag's story in Chapter 12, what bothers Otis about the postcard he receives from a friend in New Mexico?

9. Describe Texlahoma.

10. Why does Claire choose the corner of Cottonwood and Sapphire Avenues for their picnic in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author of the novel, Douglas Coupland. What is his background and how does it relate to Generation X? Is he a Gen X'er?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character Dag Bellinghausen. What are his defining character traits? What are his relationships with Andy and Claire like? Is Dag able to become a truth teller by the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the use of metaphor in Generation X. How does Coupland's use of metaphors enhance the narrative? How does the use of metaphors reiterate the key themes of the novel?

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