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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. Why does Spike hire Ellen Cherry?
(a) Because she is wearing a tight dress.
(b) Because she is an experienced waitress.
(c) Because she's an artist.
(d) For her shoes and apolitical views.

2. Where is Painted Stick abandoned?
(a) In the forest.
(b) In a basement.
(c) On a rooftop.
(d) In a cave.

3. Who mends Can 'o Beans with a welding torch?
(a) Spoon.
(b) Dirty Sock.
(c) Painted Stick.
(d) Boomer.

4. What happens to Spoon?
(a) Ellen Cherry throws her in the trash.
(b) She falls into the custody of the New York police.
(c) She escapes and finds her way back to the other objects.
(d) She is broken in the dishwasher at the I & I.

5. What does Spoon do to try and get ride of the Porcupine?
(a) Distract it by dancing around.
(b) Catapult Pebbles at it.
(c) Make noise by hitting a rock.
(d) Hit it with her ladle.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who brings the Airstream turkey?

2. What kind of a stand does Roland Abu Hadee open?

3. Where is Ellen Cherry in the section of the book called The Fourth Veil?

4. Who showed up on a bus outside the I & I?

5. What do Conch Shell and Painted Stick maintain that King Solomon is not?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do we learn about Boomer Petway in the first few sections of the novel?

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

3. The Third Veil turns out to be the veil of political illusion. Robbins says that politics is "the compulsion to preside over property and make other people's decisions for them." He says that liberty can't be a result of political action. In what ways does this seem true and in what ways not true?

4. What do we learn about Ellen Cherry in the first few sections of the novel?

5. Describe Ellen Cherry and Boomer's relationship since he's become an well-known artist.

6. Can 'o Beans says that "imprecise speech is one of the major causes of mental illness in human beings." What do you think is meant by this?

7. Verlin, Patsy, and Buddy go to see a "miracle", which turns out to be nothing more than a shadow on a freezer. What does an incident like this seem to say about people's relationship to religion and mystery? Does it cast a reflection on Buddy's miracle?

8. 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?

9. Describe why Boomer says he feels guilty about his success as an artist.

10. Describe Turn Around Norman's Activity. How is it important in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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