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. What is the name of the woman that Bukowski has relations with in Purple as an Iris?

2. What does Bukowski think of comic strips upon reading them?

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

4. What kind of friends does Bukowski have in Beer and Poets and Talk?

5. What does Bukowski do with his phone in Notes on a Pest?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. How do the boys disrespect the memories of the hepcats in The Big Pot Game?

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

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

10. What does Bukowski think of sex in Purple as an Iris?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

"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.

Essay Topic 3

"An Evil Town" displays many acts of filth or "evil" with one seemingly righteous character seeing it all. Does Frank Evans turn out to be as righteous as he seems? Why or why not? Which act of hypocrisy is the strongest? Make sure you answer each question with evidence and support from the story.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 770 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample