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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 call his "real attraction to David Steel" (pg 98)?
(a) Dave was always cracking jokes.
(b) Dave was more cynical and gloomy than he was.
(c) Both men felt they were destined to be shoprats.
(d) Both men loved classic rock.

2. At the beginning of the Epilogue, what sport was Hamper playing?
(a) Miniature golf.
(b) Basketball.
(c) Croquet.
(d) Golf.

3. What did Hamper find most irritating about the message board?
(a) It was directly in his line of vision.
(b) He could not read one message before it changed to the next.
(c) It only told him uninteresting stuff he already knew.
(d) It flashed a shade of orange that he hated.

4. While reading The Wall Street Journal article, what did Hamper realize?
(a) The average American was not interested in the working class survivors.
(b) The working class survivors were the backbone of America.
(c) He would rather be a writer than a factory worker.
(d) The working class survivors were a pitiful lot.

5. Why did Hamper sign the transfer paper to move to Pontiac?
(a) He thought it would be a good career move.
(b) He would have been fired immediately if he did not.
(c) The union did not give him any choice.
(d) Otherwise he would have been out of a job within two years.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Howie do when he began touring the factory again?

2. What fear did Dr. Kilaru diagnose Hamper with?

3. Why was Hamper familiar with Michael Moore?

4. Why did Ronny volunteer Hamper and himself for the tailgate buildup job?

5. According to Hamper in Chapter 10, why did GM not allow the NBC film crew into the factory?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In the Epilogue, Hamper shows the conflict between his mindset as a shop-rat and his time outside the factory in therapy. How did he show this and which attitude was stronger in his mind?

3. "It wasn't every afternoon that I received long-distance phone call from folks at the Wall Street Journal. I didn't remember having any friends who worked there and I was certain that I didn't owe these people any money (pg 171). What do these two sentences reveal about Hamper's character?

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

5. Who did Bob-A-Lou have a crush on? What does this reveal about his character and how was he different from most of the other factory workers?

6. How did Hamper's fellow factory workers respond to the article in the Wall Street Journal? Given the tone of this part of the story, where did Hamper actually get his happiness?

7. During and after his first panic attack, what did Hamper realize about himself?

8. What kind of supervisor was Gino? How did Hamper respond to his leadership?

9. At the beginning of Chapter 5, how did Hamper portray the employees of the Michigan Employment Security Commission? Is this a fair picture?

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

(see the answer keys)

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