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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 might an author in fiction delete a name and use a blank for it?

2. What does the narrator say is a symptom of nervous tension?

3. What does Ambrose imagine doing if he gets out of the funhouse on his own?

4. What does the narrator say might provide a foreshadowing of the story’s climax?

5. Why is Ambrose embarrassed when he hands the funhouse ticket woman money for him and Magda?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens as the teenagers are entering the Funhouse?

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

3. Who is in the car with Ambrose driving to Ocean City?

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

5. What was often done in 19th Century fiction to make a work appear real?

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

7. Describe Uncle Karl and Peter.

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

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

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

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

What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven or action driven? Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why? Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character are developed to the same degree? Why or why not? What type of plot do you think Lost in the Funhouse is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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