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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 do the children decide to do instead of enter the funhouse?

2. With what does Ambrose brush Magda’s skirt?

3. What does Ambrose’s father do for a living?

4. What does Ambrose’s mother tell the children about the money they are given?

5. Why is a conventional narrative pattern used, according to the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Ambrose’s mother give the three teenagers when they reach the boardwalk, and what does she say to them and why?

3. What is Ambrose thinking about asking Magda when they are at the pool, and what does he decide?

4. What happens to Ambrose’s father the first day, and what does his father have to do about it?

5. What does the narrator say is the best thing to do when one is lost, and what is the drawback to that action?

6. What gives Ambrose hope that he will find the exit to the Funhouse?

7. What does Ambrose think he sees when he steps into the mirror room in the Funhouse?

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

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

10. What does Peter do after giving up on his and his Uncle Karl’s play at the pool?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During the trip to Ocean City, Ambrose’s family plays car games. A traditional game is being the first to see the Towers. Ambrose, at four, realized how to win this game every time.

Discuss what understanding how to win a game at the age of four says about Ambrose as a person and what this illustrates about his intellect. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Trace and analyze the theme of consciousness in Lost in the Funhouse. Which characters struggle with this issue? Why? Which characters seem to be aware of themselves and conscious of how they relate to the world? How is Ambrose’s consciousness shown in the funhouse? How does Ambrose’s consciousness compare to other characters’ consciousness?

Essay Topic 3

While lost in the funhouse, Ambrose wanders into some dark places and sees gears and levers and an old man who seems to be manipulating them. Compare Ambrose’s wandering through the funhouse to the normal confusion Ambrose feels as an adolescent who is not quite a child but not quite an adult.

(see the answer keys)

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