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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. What was the trickiest part of doubling-up, as Hamper and Dale did?

2. Why did Hamper's dad often denounce African-Americans?

3. How did management generally run the factory?

4. What was the job Hamper first wanted to have?

5. Why was Hamper reinstated as a student in the school?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Hamper begin to construct his life after high school? How was he alone and yet not alone during this time?

3. 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?

4. What pattern emerged in junior-high that led Hamper to consider the life of a shop-rat? How did he begin to identify with his family who had worked in the factory?

5. Why is Hamper's description of Flint, Michigan, at the beginning of Chapter 2, a powerful one?

6. Who or what was Hamper's greatest enemy at work? How did he use his new attitude about work to combat the enemy?

7. What do Hamper's stories about high school revolve around? How does this show that he was giving in to the nuns' perception of him that began in junior high?

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

9. 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?

10. What did Hamper say about his younger siblings? How did this give the reader another glimpse of family life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did Hamper's writing career begin? What was the progression?

Essay Topic 2

"Layin' back is a fine reward when you're employed. However, layin' back tends to wear thin when it itself becomes your job. Gettin' loaded, readin' magazines, staring at the television becomes a rut rather than any form of relaxation" (pg 83). How is this true? What part did unemployment play in Hamper's life? How did it change his opinion about working?

Essay Topic 3

When did Hamper's job as a riveter because an identity as the Rivethead? How did he live out this identity? What impact did it have for his future?

(see the answer keys)

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