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

2. What author does the narrator name in describing something about himself in Goodbye Watson?

3. How does Bukowski spend most of his time in My Stay at the Poet's Cottage?

4. What does Frank describe to his mother?

5. How much money does Harry owe the mechanic?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is Harry driven by in Reunion?

4. Describe the moral code of prison in Scenes from the Big Time.

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

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

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

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

9. Describe Mr. Sneed 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

In "I Shot a Man in Reno," runs into several people that cause him to be very self-critical. Why is Bukowski so self-critical? How do his own ideas of himself contrast with the ideas others have of him? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

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

Many different ideas and themes are connected in Tales of Ordinary Madness, but "Notes of a Potential Suicide" reveals connections that are more obvious. What connections are revealed in the story? How is the symphony connected to the Air Show event? What makes them memorable or important for Bukowski? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

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