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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To what does Patsy Charles attribute Ellen Cherry Charles' move to New York?
(a) Her uncle's in laws loaned her money.
(b) Patsy's influence.
(c) Ellen Cherry's wildness.
(d) Her father's encouragment to become an artist.

2. What does Buddy get in trouble with law for doing?
(a) Speeding.
(b) Preaching outside a restaurant.
(c) Urinating in public.
(d) Hitting Patsy.

3. The only time we see Buddy at home, what is he doing that is unusual for him?
(a) Consulting the bible.
(b) Talking on the phone.
(c) Reading a book.
(d) Playing cards.

4. Why does Ellen Cherry Charles leave art school?
(a) Her parents refuse to keep paying for it.
(b) She wants to make art about life not school.
(c) She feels that it is too stuck up.
(d) Her father and uncle drag her out of class.

5. Who watches Buddy preaching to Ellen Cherry?
(a) Patsy.
(b) Boomer.
(c) The objects.
(d) Verlin.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Boomer's sculpture in the Fifth Veil constructed out of?

2. What happens to Spoon?

3. Why does Can 'o Beans want to be left behind on the way to New York?

4. What does Ellen Cherry do while she watches Turn Around Norman?

5. What is Spike Cohen's fetish?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do you think Robbins is saying by personifying objects and having them secretly move?

2. What do we learn about Patsy, Ellen Cherry's mother in the section called "The First Veil"?

3. Patsy suspects Buddy of seeking fame and fortune through his preaching. Does this seem likely to you, based on what you know so far about Buddy?

4. Why does Boomer turn an airstream into a Turkey?

5. Describe Abu Hadee's history, as it's recounted in "The Fourth Veil"?

6. At the end of this section, Buddy avoids getting a speeding ticket by using his saxophone voice and preaching to the police officer. Is this realistic and why do you think Robbins includes it in the story?

7. When Ellen Cherry reflects on Boomer's fear that she loves art more than him, she admits that it's true, but adds that she loves art more than herself too. What does this tell us about Ellen Cherry and about her opinion of art?

8. Why do you think that Ellen Cherry wants Boomer to call her "Jezebel" when they are intimate?

9. What is the relationship between the first veil that is revealed and the actions of the novel so far?

10. Robbins writes, "Those people who recognize that imagination is reality's master, we call 'sages', and those who act upon it, we call 'artists.'" What do you think he means by this and why is the distinction important?

(see the answer keys)

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