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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 tattoo did Doug, the steering gear man, have on his arm?

2. Why was the Good Times Lounge lawsuit dropped?

3. While reading The Wall Street Journal article, what did Hamper realize?

4. Who was the first person to call Hamper after The Wall Street Journal article was printed?

5. What two different personalities did Hank exhibit?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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. 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?

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

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

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

7. 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?

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 5, Hamper recounts the behaviors and antics of several of his coworkers. What makes these stories funny? How does Hamper choose words and phrases to emphasize the humor of the stories?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,897 words (approx. 7 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample