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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. Why is everyone in Bethlehem in the story Joe's mother reads?

2. What is Joe's thought about the question?

3. How does Joe feel after the man who he has been talking to leaves?

4. How does Joe feel after the man tells him what he says in question #175?

5. What is the new nurse writing on Joe's chest?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What did Lucky survive in America and how did she survive it?

3. What does the little guy waiting for the train with Joe say? How does Joe answer him? What do they do then?

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

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

6. What does Joe think about to try and use his mind?

7. What is Bonham's initial thought when asked what he wants and why do you think this is so?

8. What does Joe think about when he can feel dawn?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bonham recalls much of his life, and in a sense, writes a "memoir" in his mind. One aspect of a memoir is the idea of memory. Discuss the following:

1. How accurate do you think Joe's recall is about specific incidents in his life? Explain.

2. Do you think Joe is more or less likely to remember his past considering his present situation? Explain your reasoning.

3. Does recalling his life help Joe remain self-aware? Why or why not? Why would he want to remain self aware?

Essay Topic 2

Joe Bonham wonders why people are so inconsiderate, and feels more like he is coming out of ether rather than hung over, and is tired of hearing that his father is dead and going home. Father can die only once, so the phone must be part of a dream.

1. Joe is lying in a VA hospital with horrific injuries. He feels like he is coming out of ether. He is. The world at the moment seems unreal to him. Explain the flashbacks and images that Joe has in his head at the beginning of the book.

2. Almost all of this book is written as flashbacks to Joe's life before he was injured. How did this narrative technique enhance the book? Given Joe's injuries, discuss any other options the author may have had to tell the story.

3. How did the fact that this book is almost entirely flashbacks affect the pace? What about the plot? How did it enhance or obscure the themes?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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