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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 Roy shout in his father's ear?

2. What does Thurber have to talk Mother out of doing?

3. What does Roy put under the car to simulate catastrophe?

4. What part of Columbus is beyond danger?

5. Where does Thurber say he grew up as a boy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens inside the movie theater?

2. What is Briggs's nervous condition?

3. Why does Father dislike pushing the car?

4. How does Buck deal with his father's accusation that he is suffering from delirium?

5. What do Grandmother and Mother fear about electricity?

6. How does Roy scare his father?

7. What does Aunt write that she observed from the flood?

8. What is Father's relationship with his sons?

9. How do the family have to start the old REO?

10. Describe how the family erupts into chaos in the first chapter.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How accurate do the students think Thurber's representation of World War drafting is? How does he change his representation so it fits in with the story's themes?

Essay Topic 2

How does Thurber use real life situations to create humor? What serious statements does Thurber make within his humor?

Essay Topic 3

How does Thurber represent his family in the book? Does Thurber have any conflicts with his family and if so, how does he express these problems? How does Thurber's family shaped him as a person?

(see the answer keys)

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