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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. "Widow's Lament" in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster says that it is not quite cold enough to ask the neighbors for what?

2. What is one of the women holding in "Alas, Measured Perfectly" from The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

3. What color hair is referred to throughout "Horse Child Breakfast" in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

4. What type of dawn does Brautigan write of in "Your Necklace is Leaking" of The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

5. Where are the stars described in "Poker Star" from The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Brautigan's poetry in The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster differ from his prose in In Watermelon Sugar?

2. In what poem from The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster does Brautigan cite "Casablanca"? How?

3. To what is Brautigan referring in the poem, "The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster"?

4. Describe the simplicity of the poem "November 3." What is Brautigan's subject in this poem?

5. What imagery does Brautigan produce in the poem "December 30"?

6. What similes and metaphors are used in the poem "Sonnet" from The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster?

7. Describe the subject of the poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace." What does Brautigan hope for in this poem?

8. Discuss the tone of the poem "The Return of the Rivers." What does Brautigan describe here?

9. What imagery is used in the poem, "The Winos on Potrero Hill"?

10. What similes or metaphors are used in the poem "I've Never Had It Done So Gently Before"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Pauline and Margaret in In Watermelon Sugar. How do their relationships to the narrator differ?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the structure of Richard Brautigan's poetry. Define and identify the following using the poems as examples: rhyme, meter, assonance, and alliteration.

Essay Topic 3

What is alluded to in the poem "Sydney Greenstreet"? What descriptions does Brautigan present in this poem?

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