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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. Why was Jackson afraid of Hamper?

2. Why did Hamper change his mind about filming at Mark's Lounge?

3. What was the goal of rivet hockey?

4. Why was Hamper familiar with Michael Moore?

5. As Hamper discovered late one morning, approximately how many employees did GM plan to lay off?

Short Essay Questions

1. "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?

2. 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?

3. How did Hamper stumble onto writing? What does this say about him as a writer?

4. Describe Dave Steel.

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

6. Why were Moore and Hamper summoned to appear in court? How does this scene demonstrate Hamper's chosen place in the world?

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

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

9. By the time Janice moved to a different area of the factory, how had she changed? How is this different from what might be expected of a woman working that job?

10. What did Hamper think when Janice came to work on the Rivet Line? How was his reaction different from the men around him and how might this be surprising?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Hamper often describes a small section of his surroundings - his parents' couch, his workbench, Mark's Lounge - but rarely a larger scene such as the city of Flint. What does this say about the scope of his world? How often did he take in the larger scene compared to how often he was focused simply on the task ahead of him?

Essay Topic 3

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

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