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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. In My Stay at the Poet's Cottage, how does Bukowski get to the train station?

2. Where does Bukowski return home to at the end of My Stay at the Poet's Cottage?

3. What does Mr. Sneed do by the ocean?

4. Who does Chinasky avoid at a party?

5. What does the Too Sensitive narrator's girlfriend tell him about Benny Adimson?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the boyfriend choose to interpret his girlfriend's insult in Too Sensitive?

2. How do pain and violence play a role in Nut Ward East of Hollywood?

3. How does the girlfriend insult her boyfriend in Too Sensitive?

4. In Great Poets Die in Steaming Pots of Shit, how does Bukowski feel about his fans, and why?

5. How is the foreman in Love it or Leave it cruel?

6. Describe the character of Frank Evans in An Evil Town.

7. What do Bukowski and Maxie leave the conversation with in A Quiet Conversation Piece?

8. How does Mr. Sneed view death in A Dollar and 20 Cents?

9. How does Bukowksi obey social conventions when attending the wedding in The Great Zen Wedding?

10. What is Bukowski's primal desire in Rape! Rape!, and how does he reveal it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Would You Suggest Writing as a Career?" and "The Great Zen Wedding" both contain characters who have an unusual view towards women. Describe the main characters' views of women from both stories. How do you explain the violent attitude toward women in both stories? What does each character hope to achieve by gaining control over women? What do you make of the women's responses to his overtures? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the stories.

Essay Topic 2

"Reunion" and "Cunt and Kant and a Happy Home" both contain characters with an addiction--one has an addiction to alcohol, while the other has a gambling addiction. How do each characters' addiction affect their life? Does it affect anyone around them, and if so, how? Describe the cycle of addiction as seen in the stories. Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the stories.

Essay Topic 3

"An Evil Town" displays many acts of filth or "evil" with one seemingly righteous character seeing it all. Does Frank Evans turn out to be as righteous as he seems? Why or why not? Which act of hypocrisy is the strongest? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

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