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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 10, why did Moore not want to move to San Francisco?

2. What was Hamper and Jerry's scheme for getting extra hours (pg 149)?

3. According to Hamper in Chapter 10, why did GM not allow the NBC film crew into the factory?

4. What was the primary reason that Henry Jackson, the supervisor, hated Dave?

5. What was Hamper's problem with his job on the axle line?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. What did Mike Moore want to do his last night in Flint before he moved to San Francisco? How is this oddly fitting?

6. What kind of supervisor was Gino? How did Hamper respond to his leadership?

7. 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?

8. 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?

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

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 many women were involved in Hamper's life and what roles did they play? As seen by his relationships with Joanie and Janice, what were his attitudes toward women?

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

What role did the time clock play in Hamper's life? How did it become his worst enemy?

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