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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Bukowski keep betting on in Flower Horse?
(a) Horses who win.
(b) Horses who become injured.
(c) Horses who are short of winning.
(d) Horses who are in last place.

2. What does Bukowski hear through the wall in Beer and Poets and Talk?
(a) A couple laughing.
(b) Children fighting.
(c) Children laughing.
(d) A couple fighting.

3. In One for Walter Lowenfels, where does the man's daughter need to go today?
(a) Dentist.
(b) The doctor.
(c) Preschool.
(d) School.

4. What is Bukowski's current delusion in The Blanket?
(a) The water tries to drown him.
(b) His neighbor tries to shoot him.
(c) A blanket tries to strangle him.
(d) Tiny men try to electrocute him.

5. What singer is Bukowski listening to in I Shot a Man in Reno?
(a) Johnny Cash.
(b) Elvis.
(c) Sam Cooke.
(d) Ella Fitzgerald.

6. Which animal does Gordon catch Carol with first?
(a) A snake.
(b) Cat.
(c) Tiger.
(d) Orangutan.

7. What does Bukowski wonder about himself in Notes on a Pest?
(a) Whether he is a pest.
(b) Whether he is loveable.
(c) Whether he is a good husband.
(d) Whether he is intelligent.

8. Who does the woman sleep with first in I Shot a Man in Reno?
(a) Jim.
(b) She sleeps with no one.
(c) Bukowski.
(d) Luke.

9. What does Bukowski discuss with his friends in Beer and Poets and Talk?
(a) The nature of their friendship today.
(b) The nature of literature today.
(c) The nature of relationships today.
(d) The nature of politics today.

10. What is the name of the song that Bukowski is listening to in I Shot a Man in Reno?
(a) Summertime.
(b) I shot a man in Reno.
(c) Folsom Prison.
(d) A change gonna come.

11. In Purple as an Iris, what does Bukowski sell?
(a) Books.
(b) Drugs.
(c) Cigarettes.
(d) Alcohol.

12. When does one particular pest call Bukowski?
(a) Noon.
(b) Midnight.
(c) Every night.
(d) Every morning.

13. In Purple as an Iris, who discovers Bukowski and the woman?
(a) Orderlies.
(b) Other patients.
(c) His friends.
(d) His wife.

14. What does Bukowski's final visitor give him?
(a) A check.
(b) A book of poetry.
(c) A coffin.
(d) A novel.

15. What kind of friends does Bukowski have in Beer and Poets and Talk?
(a) Working-class.
(b) Ignorant.
(c) Literary.
(d) Illiterate.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the boy respond to the old man in Night Streets of Madness?

2. What emotion does Bukowski observe on the racetrack coupled with joy in Flower Horse?

3. In Night Streets of Madness, who does Bukowski think about having a conversation with?

4. What did Bukowski witness at the event that he attended as a young boy?

5. In One for Walter Lowenfels, who likes the woman's poems?

(see the answer keys)

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