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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. What band member is added to the I & I band?
(a) A female tambourine player.
(b) A female vocalist.
(c) A male pianist.
(d) A bass player.

2. Why are the streets of New York deserted the night that Spike returns after being shot?
(a) There's been a terrorist attack on the city.
(b) It's Christmas day.
(c) It's below zero temperatures.
(d) The Super Bowl is on TV.

3. What does Ellen Cherry decide is the root of Buddy's "hankering for apocalypse"?
(a) Religious fervor.
(b) Vanity.
(c) Loneliness.
(d) Cruelty.

4. What is Boomer's final gift to Ellen Cherry?
(a) The Turkey.
(b) A portrait of her.
(c) Spoon.
(d) Can 'o Beans.

5. To what does Abu attribute the frequent accomplishments of the Jews?
(a) Their innate sense of mathematics.
(b) Sheer luck.
(c) Their work ethic.
(d) Their focus on the present instead of the afterlife.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the objects that are with Buddy plan to get to Jerusalem?

2. What do Verlin and Patsy want to see while they're in New York?

3. Who tells Ellen Cherry that Buddy is going ahead with his plan to blow up the Dome of the Rock?

4. Who hears Spike and Ellen Cherry after hours in the I &I?

5. Who does Painted Stick strike?

Short Essay Questions

1. Is there a reason why Dirty Sock is the only object left behind when the objects escape and never makes it to Jerusalem?

2. Explain the Vice President's concern regarding Buddy's plan to blow up the Dome of the Rock.

3. When Ultima and Ellen Cherry talk about art, Ultima says that some artists admit defeat and stop trying to be original. Ellen Cherry disagrees with this and says artists always strive for originality. Why do you think this conversation inspires her to begin painting again?

4. Throughout the novel so far, Ellen Cherry seems to be cosmically bound to the group of objects. As they try to escape, Buddy catches two of them. Which objects does he catch and is Buddy also cosmically connected to the objects? Why?

5. Describe what happens to Ellen Cherry when she plays the eye game looking at Spoon.

6. Explain the conversation that Ellen Cherry has with Patsy on the phone the day after she sleeps with Spike.

7. Patsy tells Ellen Cherry that it seems like Boomer loves her but doesn't like her, while he likes but doesn't love Ultima. Does this seem like a true representation of Boomer's feelings, based on what you know about him so far?

8. Without art and without Boomer, Ellen Cherry is beginning to feel that life is meaningless. What do you think Robbins is saying about the relationship between the meaning we give our lives and our endeavors and/or relationships?

9. Is there symbolic significance in the event when Ellen Cherry, having determined to paint again, goes looking for Turn Around Norman and finds Buddy instead?

10. What is the effect of the high definition TV that Spike gave to the I & I?

(see the answer keys)

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