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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. What does Bukowski discover in A Bad Trip?

2. What is the name of Bukowski's companion at the event in Notes of a Potential Suicide?

3. Why does Gordon marry Carol?

4. What do the two young men reply to Bukowski when he asks for a cigarette in The Big Pot Game?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the first woman in A Rain of Women remind Bukowski of?

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

3. What else does Bukowski realize about himself when he sees Luke in I Shot a Man in Reno?

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

5. What does Bukowski think of people's taste in music?

6. What does a pest do, according to Bukowski in Notes on the Pest?

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

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

9. Describe the woman in One for Walter Lowenfels.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"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 2

"Eyes Like the Sky" serves as something of a rant for Bukowski, and he complains about the state of comic strips and poets today. Describe what Bukowski thinks of current poetry and comic strips. Why does he have this opinion on these mediums? What does he see for the future of these mediums? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

Essay Topic 3

"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.

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