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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. What did Hamper and Joanie name their baby daughter?
(a) Sarah.
(b) Sylvia.
(c) Sonya.
(d) Sandra.

2. What was the trickiest part of doubling-up, as Hamper and Dale did?
(a) Keeping up to speed.
(b) Punching out.
(c) Punching in.
(d) Explaining your partner's absence to the supervisor.

3. What machine did Hamper operate in the Cab Shop?
(a) A spot-welder.
(b) A mig-welder.
(c) A sealer.
(d) A hammer.

4. Why, primarily, did GM management not crack down on the employees' drinking during work?
(a) Management drank as much at work as the shop-rats did.
(b) As long as production continued, they didn't care.
(c) Management did not realize the employees were drinking at work.
(d) It was too much work to police every employee.

5. What happened when Hamper was called in to see the guidance counselor at school?
(a) Hamper was too stoned to go.
(b) Hamper hated all the job choices that the counselor presented.
(c) The counselor could not find a suitable job for him.
(d) The counselor could only recommend blue-collar jobs.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the beginning of Chapter Four, when Hamper and Bob-A-Lou went to the "State of the Factory" address, what were they given?

2. Why was Robert often angry when he got his check?

3. At the beginning of Chapter Two, what religiously-loaded term did Hamper use to describe Flint?

4. What was the routine when Joanie visited Hamper's house?

5. As Brown hung around in the Cab Shop, what did he do?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the end of Chapter 4, Hamper reveals his place in the present time and lets the reader know that the events took place some nine years before he wrote about them. What effect does this have on the reader's perception of the book?

2. When did the GM assembly line begin to look like an attractive option to Hamper? How did this demonstrate a change in Hamper's thinking?

3. What religious background did Hamper have during his childhood? How did religion shape his move into adulthood?

4. Hamper's father, though not a model of determination or reliability, often berated his son because of his poor grades. How did his cursing set the tone of their conversations about school?

5. What kind of a person was Franklin? How was his personality different than expected? How did he act as a sort of prototype for Hamper's own life?

6. Who were Lightnin' and Same-O? What did their lives say about Hamper's future?

7. At the end of Chapter 1, what did Hamper reveal about his hopes for the future? What insight did he show about the past?

8. How does Hamper describe the Cab Shop the first time he goes there? What about the description is the most informative about the scene?

9. Hamper said that Same-O was quite likely the only genius he ever met at the General Motors factory (pg 66). Why did he say this?

10. What system did Dale and Hamper rig up at work? How did this again change Hamper's attitude toward his job?

(see the answer keys)

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