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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. At the beginning of Chapter Two, what religiously-loaded term did Hamper use to describe Flint?
2. What was the routine when Joanie visited Hamper's house?
3. Why was Hamper expelled from his Catholic high school?
4. At the beginning of Chapter Three, what reason did Hamper give that Joanie was unhappy in their marriage?
5. In the summer and fall of 1977, how many hours a day did Hamper work?
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. At the end of Chapter 1, what did Hamper reveal about his hopes for the future? What insight did he show about the past?
3. What religious background did Hamper have during his childhood? How did religion shape his move into adulthood?
4. How did poetry temporarily draw Hamper out of his slide toward the factory? How might this have paved the way for more writing in the future?
5. "I'm thinking that rock stars, even dead ones, don't come cheap" (pg xix). In the context of the Prologue, what does this quote mean?
6. 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?
7. What story does Hamper tell involving Lesley Gore's music? How does this story show that Hamper, if only for an hour and twelve minutes, transcended the shop-rat mindset?
8. What promises did the Plant Manager make during the factory meeting? How did Hamper's retelling of the speech change its tone?
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?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
What is the significance in Hamper's descriptions of his parents? He never says "Mom" or "Dad," only "my mother" or "my father." What unusual formality does this lend to his story?
Essay Topic 2
Several times throughout the book, Hamper gives foreshadowing of his mental breakdown. Where are these references? Do they prepare the reader for what is coming?
Essay Topic 3
Hamper often uses short sentences comprised of a couple nouns and no verbs. What is the effect of these sentences to the reader? Do they propel or slow the flow of the story?
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This section contains 1,824 words (approx. 7 pages at 300 words per page) |
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