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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 is the maid's name in section forty?

2. What is the name of the scrub woman Bukowski mentions in section twenty-seven?

3. What is the name of the young black girl Bukowski likes in section thirty-one?

4. In section thirty-five Bukowski tells his friend that it's not actually difficult to understand which author?

5. What is the name of Henry's neighbor who keeps birds in section twenty-two?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the letter Bukowski relates in section twenty-six?

2. What goes wrong with the plan to strike it rich in section thirty-three?

3. What is Yevonna like physically before her marriage to Hank, and how does that change after the marriage in section forty?

4. How does the landlady in section twenty-eight respond to the broken bed?

5. What happens in section twenty-nine when Mary brings Eddie and the Duchess to Bukowski's place?

6. Describe the conflict between Elsie and the cabbie in section thirty-one.

7. Describe Bukowski's relationship with Renie in section thirty-seven.

8. Describe how Bukowski meets the woman who ends up at his place in section nineteen.

9. Describe how Bukowski earns $50 in section thirty-four.

10. Describe Bukowski's housing situation in section twenty-three.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Bukowski a Republican or a Democrat? Based on his stated political views, decide which party he most easily fits and write a persuasive essay categorizing him that way. Be sure to use quotes and other supporting information from the text.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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