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. In Purple as an Iris, who discovers Bukowski and the woman?

2. What do the guests at the party like to talk about in Night Streets of Madness?

3. What place does Bukowski describe in Purple as an Iris?

4. In The Big Pot Game, what do the young men have, according to Bukowski?

5. In Beer and Poets and Talk, what does Bukowski think of the poets?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the older men contrast with the younger ones in The Big Pot Game?

2. Why does Bukowski usually avoid talking about literature, and what reminds him of of this in Beer and Poets and Talk?

3. What does Bukowski think of citizens today in A Bad Trip?

4. In Flower Horse, what do the track and gambling represent?

5. What is different about Beer and Poets and Talk than the other short stories in Tales of Ordinary Madness?

6. What happens at the end of the Flower Horse?

7. How does Bukowski's obsession with death and sex show up in Notes of a Potential Suicide?

8. Why is the idea that every man can be a pest scary in Notes on the Pest?

9. How does Bukowski feel next to Jim in I Shot a Man in Reno?

10. Why does Bukowski cry after burning the blanket in The Blanket?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

"A Dollar and 20 Cents" displays a different side of Bukowski with the character being an old, weary man who is too weak to continue living in the world. Why does he feel he cannot continue in the world, and why does he welcome death? Compare and contrast the old man with the young people he conversed with early on in the story. Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 785 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample