View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Bukowski feel after being charged with rape?

2. What is Mad Jimmy wearing?

3. What does the man interpret one of Bukowski's poems to be about in Great Poets Die in Steaming Pots of Shit?

4. Where is Frank Evans staying in An Evil Town?

5. In Goodbye Watson, what athlete does the narrator have success with?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What distinct human traits are revealed in Rape! Rape!?

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

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

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

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

7. What does Bukowski realize in the jail cell in No Stockings?

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

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

10. In My Stay in the Poet's Cottage, how does Bukowski reply to the editor who is shocked at his walking in the stifling heat rather than wait for the bus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"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.

Essay Topic 2

"Beer and Poets and Talk" displays Bukowski talking about literature freely, which is a rare instance in this collection of stories. What are Bukowski's thoughts on literature, and what does he think of it in comparison to reality? Why does he emphasize either literature or reality over the other? What does the arguing couple remind him of? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

Essay Topic 3

Many stories in "Tales of Ordinary Madness" involve a serious addiction to gambling. Using at least two stories as examples, describe how gambling play a role in the main characters' lives. Describe the cycle of addiction. How does gambling affect the characters' lives? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the stories.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 714 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample