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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The two things that keep the common reader turning the pages, according to Gardner are story or what?
(a) Mood.
(b) Character.
(c) Argument.
(d) Theme.

2. In what novel does Levin propose to Kitty, as cited in Chapter 1?
(a) Anna Karenina.
(b) Nicholas Nickleby.
(c) Emma.
(d) Crime and Punishment.

3. Which author does Gardner state had "gazelle eyes" which dominated the room in Chapter 1?
(a) Anthony Trollope.
(b) Joyce Carol Oates.
(c) F. Scott Fitzgerald.
(d) James Joyce.

4. What is the name of the man who moves next door to his teenage daughter in Gardner's hypothetical story in Chapter 1?
(a) James.
(b) Frank.
(c) Bill.
(d) Bob.

5. Who wrote Divine Comedy?
(a) Chekhov.
(b) Dante.
(c) Joyce.
(d) Bloom.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the author of Piers Plowman?

2. What author does Gardner say has a deep misanthropic mistrust in Chapter 1?

3. In what novel does Gardner note the rooftop scene as being one of surprise in Chapter 1?

4. Who is the author of The Turn of the Screw?

5. What book was Gardner writing when he remembered the altered sense coming over him while in the last chapter?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Gardner explain characterization and story through his hypothetical story in Chapter 1?

2. What does Gardner relate about the "author's character" in Chapter 1? How does he describe "special intelligence?"

3. What authors does Gardner use to illustrate language and character in Chapter 1?

4. What state does good fiction elicit in the reader, according to Gardner?

5. What does Gardner write about showy language in Chapter 1?

6. What does Gardner assert of the author learning character through television in Chapter 1?

7. How does Gardner define "setting," "plot," and "theme" in Chapter 1?

8. What does Gardner suggest as ways to understand the psychology of characters unlike themselves?

9. What essential things must an aspiring author understand in order to pursue writing?

10. What is the "moronic setup" that Gardner relates in Chapter 1?

(see the answer keys)

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