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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. Approximately how long was Hamper unemployed before being called back to work?

2. Why was Gino moved from his position as supervisor on the Rivet Line?

3. What was Dave's attitude toward humanity?

4. In pretending that he's competing in the Olympics, who are his opponents?

5. When did Hamper's first breakdown occur?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

5. What was one of Hamper's favorite ways to pass time at work? How is this an interesting facet of his character?

6. What was Hamper's reaction to the news that Louise Mandrell had ordered a GM Suburban? How does this fit what the reader already knows about Hamper's personality?

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

8. How did the men on the Rivet Line deal with the supervisor sent in to replace Gino? How was this a sign that they are powerful?

9. Hamper said that working on the Rivet Line was like being paid to flunk high school the rest of your life (pgs 185,188). How might this be true? Why is Hamper content with this lifestyle?

10. What kind of relationship did Gino have with his men? Why did this lead to his eventual transfer away from the Rivet Line?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

How did Roy's crackup prefigure Hamper's own mental breakdown? What role did Hamper play on Roy's story, and how did Roy's compare to his own?

Essay Topic 3

"My old man abhorred the truth. It was like some horrible, foreign diction that ripped at his core" (pg 4). What truth is Hamper referring to? As demonstrated by his own life, what was his reaction to the same truth?

(see the answer keys)

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