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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 victory did Hamper enjoy, though the Olympic gold medal wasn't real?

2. Why did Polson, another shop-rat, become angry at Hamper?

3. To what did Hamper compare Dave's styled hair?

4. Why does Hamper want to avoid his grandfather at the family reunion?

5. What was Hamper's advice for working thirty years in the factory?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was Hamper's opinion of the Flint Voice when he first read it? What expectations does this create in the reader's mind?

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. Describe Dave Steel.

6. 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?

7. What difficulty did Hamper run into as he tried to get a visitor's pass for Alex Kotlowitz, the reporter from the Wall Street Journal? How does this difficulty illustrate the vast difference between the factory worker and the corporate man, even within the same company?

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

9. Hamper describes Paul Schobel's work techniques through a series of natural metaphors (pg 189). Why is this different from what might be expected? How is it humorous?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

What is the effect of Hamper's family tree as the reader moves through the book? Why would he give such detail about his extended family work history?

Essay Topic 3

Who was Gino Donlan? Why did Hamper like him and why was he different from many other people in his same position? To answer this, you should compare him to other supervisors in the plant.

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