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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. What does Ambrose imagine his father saying to him about the people on the boardwalk?

2. On what does a machine in the arcade stamp a person’s name?

3. What does Ambrose know is the strategy for spying the Towers first?

4. Where are the prizes in the arcade now made?

5. What happens to Ambrose’s voice if he becomes excited when talking?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Magda ask Ambrose about concerning his foot, and what is his reply?

2. Who does Ambrose see in the Funhouse when he is wandering and what is that person doing?

3. What has Ambrose realized about winning the traditional game, and at what age does he understand this tactic?

4. What does Ambrose imagine his father saying to him about getting through the Funhouse?

5. What does Ambrose remember of a cigar box his Uncle Karl has?

6. What is done in Ocean City because of U-boats and how is it done?

7. What does an elderly man say to Ambrose about how to enter the Funhouse?

8. What does the narrator say is the function of the beginning of a story?

9. What does the narrator say a Freitag’s Triangle is?

10. In which section of the Funhouse does Ambrose take Magda’s arm, and why does he take her arm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During the car ride Ambrose remembers a time when, three years previously, Peter, Magda and himself played Niggers and Masters.

Discuss how the game relates to the era and place in which this story takes place. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Often, authors will write about what they know, and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the story more interesting. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of John Barth. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her short stories? Why or why not? Give examples. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Barth's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the short story and discuss Barth's probable agenda concerning that idea.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss what you think are the characteristics of a successful short story and why Lost in the Funhouse is or is not a successful short story based on your criteria. Do you think the criteria for a successful short story should be different if it is written for adults versus young adults?

(see the answer keys)

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