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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 causes Stan to say "To hell with it" when he gets to his apartment?

2. Jimmy Herf thinks reporters are what?

3. What were Babylon and Nineveh built out of, according to Stan?

4. What does George Baldwin think of Washington?

5. What does Stan wish he was?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the people at the Louis Expresso Association's Annual Dance react to Gus McNeil's presence?

2. What does Dick Snow say about Ellen's divorce?

3. What has happened in Captain James Merivale's family since he has been gone?

4. What doe Phil think will happen if he can sell his tiles to architects?

5. What does Anna's mother say when she scolds her for her line of work?

6. What does Jimmy say to Congo concerning their comparative social status?

7. Why does Stan throw the chair through the window of his apartment?

8. What is the greatest sight in the world according to Jimmy Herf as he and his family return from abroad?

9. How does Pearline normally feel about fires?

10. How does George declare his feelings for Elaine at dinner?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain Jimmy's fascination with skyscrapers. How do skyscrapers define New York at this time period?

Essay Topic 2

At one point Ellen says that having children is an admission of defeat. Eventually, after Stan's death, she marries Jimmy Herf and has a child. How does she feel about her life, Jimmy, the child, and Stan's death?

Essay Topic 3

What is Jimmy's relationship to his mother like when he was a child? How does he deal with her illness and her death? How does her role in his life affect how he evolves throughout the book?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 624 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample