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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. Why was it difficult to get a visitor's pass for Alex, the reporter from The Wall Street Journal?
(a) No one knew where Hamper should go to request it.
(b) Every department said their hands were tied.
(c) The request took two weeks to process.
(d) Hamper's supervisor didn't want to give approval for the visit.

2. As Hamper discovered late one morning, approximately how many employees did GM plan to lay off?
(a) 20,000.
(b) 7500.
(c) 30,000.
(d) 3000.

3. What happened when Hamper wanted to get out of his move to Pontiac
(a) He was fired immediately.
(b) The union representative said he would pull some strings so he could stay.
(c) He was told he'd have to see if his job would still remain in two years.
(d) GM would not let him out of a signed contract.

4. How did Hamper and Dave Steel initially bond?
(a) They worked next to each other on the assembly line.
(b) Hamper asked Dave why he stood up to the supervisor.
(c) Over Hamper's article that rock music was dead.
(d) Hamper invited Dave for a drink.

5. Why did Hamper not want to write about being a shop-rat, in an article for the Flint Voice?
(a) He wanted to pretend work was better than it actually was.
(b) He thought the topic was boring.
(c) He did not want his coworkers to be offended.
(d) He thought it would be too much work.

Short Answer Questions

1. In general terms, how did Hamper feel as he drove away from GM for the last time?

2. Why did Hamper change his mind about filming at Mark's Lounge?

3. To what does Hamper compare his factory job?

4. What was the subject matter of Dave and Hamper's "shopera" (pg 195)

5. Why did Hamper want to wear the Howie costume head?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the purpose of Hamper's food matching game (pgs 78-79)? What effect does the game have to the writing of this scene?

2. What new vehicle was the factory hired to build? How was this, written in Hamper's account of life, a sign of the times?

3. What arrangement did Paul and Hamper scheme up at work? How did Hamper justify this, even to the point of making it appear right?

4. What did Mike Moore want to do his last night in Flint before he moved to San Francisco? How is this oddly fitting?

5. According to Hamper, why does the reading public not want to read about the working man? Is this a fair assessment?

6. What conversation did Hamper and his grandfather have during the family reunion? How does this fittingly illustrate the difference in their generations?

7. Why did General Motors become concerned with the quality of their vehicles? Given Hamper's tone while telling this story, what was his response?

8. Describe Dave Steel.

9. What kind of place was Mark's Lounge? How was this place exactly what Hamper needed?

10. How did Hamper stumble onto writing? What does this say about him as a writer?

(see the answer keys)

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