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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 Scenes from the Big Time, what does the narrator do all day?

2. How does Bukowski brush off the man in Great Poets Die in Steaming Pots of Shit?

3. What does Bukowski ask the woman to do after he takes a bath?

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

5. What does Mr. Sneed do with the food Mrs. Connors brings him?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Cunt and Kant and a Happy Home, describe the highs and lows of Jack Hendley's horse races.

2. Describe Mr. Sneed in A Dollar and 20 Cents.

3. What does the narrator of Goodbye Watson think about literature?

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

5. What does the narrator say he will require of his creative writing students in Goodbye Watson?

6. Describe the character of Signo in The Stupid Christs.

7. Describe Charles Bukowski's character in Doing Time with Public Enemy No. 1.

8. What kind of relationships does Bukowski form in My Stay in the Poet's Cottage?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Rape! Rape!" is a story in which human and animalistic traits run rampant. How do the characters exhibit animalistic behaviors? When does the human trait of lying appear, and how does it appear? Why does Bukowski become so confused after Vera lies? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

Essay Topic 2

Symbolism can be found throughout Tales of Ordinary Madness. Choose two different stories to describe symbols from. What do those symbols you chose represent? How do they contrast in comparison to their surroundings? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the stories.

Essay Topic 3

"Animal Crackers in My Soup" has an abrupt and somewhat unusual conclusion. What happens in the conclusion? What does the baby represent? Why does the story end the way it does? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

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This section contains 690 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample