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. Whose birthday is it towards the end of One for Walter Lowenfels?

2. What does Bukowski hear through the wall in Beer and Poets and Talk?

3. According to Bukowski, in Notes on the Pest, what does a pest do?

4. What happens to Carol's animals one day?

5. What does Bukowski notice on his hands at the end of The Blanket?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What do Bukowski's visitors take away from him in A Popular Man?

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

7. What does Carol do for Gordon to help him in Animal Crackers in My Soup?

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

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

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

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

Insanity is a theme that runs throughout many stories in Tales of Ordinary Madness, but it is especially prominent in "Night Streets of Madness." How is insanity displayed in this story? Give at least two examples. What does Bukowski think of these insane actions? Which act of insanity is the worst in Bukwoski's opinion? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

Essay Topic 3

As the title indicates, "Too Sensitive" contains the theme of sensitivity. Describe the way sensitivity is displayed in the story. How does the narrator suffer from his own kind of sensitivity despite his thinking that he is not sensitive? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 725 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample