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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. How does he name the days of the week and months?

2. How many times has Flannigan been married?

3. On what side of the hospital is Joe's room?

4. To whom does Joe compare himself?

5. In Joe's dream what can Jesus do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Joe think he's in England?

2. What does Joe think is the key to knowing time and how does he plan to use the key?

3. What is Joe's first response to what the nurse communicates to him?

4. What is the response to Joe's offer and Joe's reaction?

5. Describe the process of the new nurse attempting to communicate with Joe.

6. Why does Joe feel a dread about time and what does he think he needs to do?

7. Why does Bonham consider himself a slave and what does he ask God?

8. What obstacle does Joe see in their granting his request and what is his solution?

9. How does Joe think of Kareen and what does he wonder about her?

10. How does Joe envision his nurses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the images in the book is the returning to the womb of an adult. Joe often expresses a feeling of being in a womb. When he first begins assessing his situation in the hospital, he expresses the desire that his mother care for him as he saw her care for his youngest sister, Elizabeth. Discuss the following:

1. How is the image of being in a womb both a positive and negative one in the book?

2. Why do you think Joe yearns for his mother to treat him like his young sister? Do you think his mother would be willing to care for Joe?

3. Many people who are dying, especially unexpectedly or in combat, call out for "mother." Discuss why you think this is so and include examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

The first section of the book begins a theme that finds its culmination in the final chapters--the idea of dying for one's country and "freedom." Discuss one of the following:

1. During the last conflict in which there was a draft (Vietnam), many men choose to leave the United States rather than fight in a war in which they do not believe. Discuss how Joe views his being drafted and the reasons he accepts his legal obligation. How does he think about this same subject near the end of the book?

2. Is it ever moral to refuse to serve one's country? Take a stance and give detailed examples to support it.

3. Compare and contrast a war/conflict in which the United States was involved which seemed justifiable with one that does not seem as such.

Essay Topic 3

Joe thinks about how the doctor's have saved his life, but he rather than feeling appreciative, he is resentful and feels more like a science experiment. Discuss one of the following:

1. Elaborate on and analyze Joe's attitudes towards the doctors both at the field hospital and in his long term care facility.

2. Discuss the pros and cons of saving life at any cost, whether on the battlefield or otherwise.

3. One might think that doctors work harder to save young people because they are young and have not had a full lifespan, yet, in our culture, doctors often go to heroic efforts to save quite elderly persons, spending much resources for little return. Are their efforts "heroic"? Discuss fully.

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