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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. In Chapter 49, what does James' father ask him to help with?

2. What caused Marathe to lose his legs?

3. What caused Don to give up on high school and football?

4. What kind of job does Don do for Ennet House?

5. What prompts many students to believe there is nothing to attain when goals are reached?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How is Mario affected by his films not being as popular as his father's?

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

4. What kind of relationship did James and Lyle have?

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

6. Why is Don so interested in Joelle?

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

8. Why does Joelle like to clean?

9. How does Orin treat women?

10. Why does Joelle wear the veil?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does each part of Infinite Jest serve a specific purpose? Are there any elements to the story that are pointless? If so, why are these elements still included?

Essay Topic 2

What purpose do the names of the years serve? Why does Wallace include a list of all the years? Why did he choose to name them instead of number them?

Essay Topic 3

What does the title Infinite Jest suggest about the novel? Why do you think Wallace chose this title?

(see the answer keys)

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