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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. Who watched a classmate die after he achieved his goal?

2. Which character appears in the Entertainment?

3. Don would have feelings for Joelle, but for what roadblock?

4. How does Don feel in his sobriety?

5. In Chapter 67, what does Joelle begin to worry obsessively about?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role does the theme of suicide play in the novel?

2. Why does Mario ask Avril how to tell if somebody is sad?

3. What parallels does Wallace draw between the Entertainment and drugs?

4. What do Hal's dreams about losing his teeth represent?

5. What does Lyle mean when he tells the students never to underestimate objects?

6. What are the contents of the Entertainment?

7. What is Remy's view of American culture?

8. Describe the memories James had about his father.

9. Why is Don so interested in Joelle?

10. How could the use of the Entertainment be devastating?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What kind of relationship do Hal and Mario have? Why does it make sense that Mario looks to Hal for guidance and reassurance even though Hal is younger? What types of events cause strain in their relationship?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Hal have a breakdown at the end of the novel? What brought the breakdown on? How does the breakdown lead to the scene that is actually first in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Why do Don and Joelle connect? What elements of their histories and current treatment parallel each other? Why is Don so interested in Joelle?

(see the answer keys)

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