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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. As section seventeen opens, Henry notes that it is what day of the week?

2. What time is it in section thirteen as the narrator wakes?

3. Bukowski ends section five by asking who cares about a dead what?

4. What does Freddie use to kill Marty when Marty and the mother come to pick up the little girl?

5. When Bukowski arrives in his room in the Village in New York, what item does he find in the room that he considers useless?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why, according to section twelve, is Bukowski happy to be living in the age he is despite the chaos and corruption?

2. How does Henry respond to his ailment in section seventeen?

3. What does the narrator finally discover about dying at the end of section thirteen?

4. What begins the major argument between Bukowski and L in section fifteen?

5. What experience does Bukowski have with the Jewish cleaners in section six?

6. In section thirteen, what conclusions does the narrator draw about the life he's led?

7. In section nine, Bukowski has what to say in response to the assassinations of Kennedy, King, and Malcolm X?

8. How does Bukowski react when his favorite fighter loses to Balanos in section seven?

9. Explain what Neal is doing when Bukowski meets him in section four.

10. According to Bukowski, why does the crowd continue to bet on the races after the riot on the field in section eight?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Bukowski see his place in the world? Pick three of his major personality traits and discuss the ways in which those three things shape his life. Be sure to include supporting information from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Overall, is Bukowski an optimist or a pessimist? Choose three situational examples from the text and decide whether he responds to each with the glass half-full or half-empty.

Essay Topic 3

Is Yevonna actually mentally troubled, or is she merely "playing possum" because she's unhappy with Bukowski/Radowski? Develop a thesis and write a persuasive essay taking one view or the other. Be sure to include supporting information from the text.

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