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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. Of what kind of group have the boys in The Big Pot Game copied their language from?

2. What is acid's virtue, according to Bukowski?

3. What does the woman that Bukowski approaches in I Shot a Man in Reno pull out?

4. Why does Bukowski hate the woman who has entered the shop in A Rain of Women?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Bukowski's idea of justness in his society?

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

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

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

5. Why does Bukowski think that current poets and comic strips create their art the way they do?

6. What is ironic about Bukowski's observations in A Bad Trip?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"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 2

"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 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.

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