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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. Kathryn is _________________ older than Paul.
(a) eighteen months.
(b) two years.
(c) six months.
(d) one year.

2. To whose apartment does Paul go to later that night?
(a) Agatson's.
(b) Christine's.
(c) Gene's.
(d) Jack's.

3. Why does Kathryn especially hate her job?
(a) Her boss yells at her.
(b) The commute is too long.
(c) She is underutilized.
(d) She doesn't make much money.

4. Stofsky begins to wonder if God could be __________________.
(a) the devil.
(b) himself.
(c) insane.
(d) nonexistent.

5. Stofsky receives a letter from ___________________ from his Merchant Marine days.
(a) Jack Daniels.
(b) Jack Dennison.
(c) Jack Morton.
(d) Jack Waters.

Short Answer Questions

1. Stofsky quotes a poem written by ________________.

2. The woman mentioned in #68 is described as __________________.

3. Paul tells Kathryn that it is _________________ for her to be attracted to someone else.

4. Stofsky has now decided to believe in _________________.

5. What is Bill's last name?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Paul and Kathryn realize about their marriage and their life as they recover from the party the next day?

2. Why is it not out of place for someone like Stofsky to talk about psychological issues during this time period?

3. Why are Jack Waters' Existential thoughts not taken seriously?

4. Why do the characters at the party revel in the excitement of it?

5. What does Chapter 2 reveal about Paul and Kathryn's marriage and the strain that Paul's hopeful writing career places on it?

6. What are some of the ways in which Stofsky searches for meaning in his life?

7. Describe the scene where Stofsky goes to see Waters in his flat and is picked up by the asylum attendants.

8. What is the significance of Paul Hobbes writing a love letter at the beginning of the novel?

9. How does Paul's lack of self-awareness drive the attachments he makes in his life?

10. How does the frantic behavior of the characters undermine their relationships with each other?

(see the answer keys)

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