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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 BR refuse from Naylor at the beginning of Chapter 4?

2. What does Bobby Jay Bliss and Polly bet on in Chapter 7?

3. At the end of Chapter 5, how much money does Naylor say the Academy is committing to a campaign to stop underage smoking?

4. How long does B.R. give Naylor to come up with a new media plan for the Academy?

5. How many nicotine patches are put on Nick's body in Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Nick's meeting with Heather Holloway end in Chapter 9?

2. Why is USA Today trying to contact Naylor in Chapter 1?

3. How did Bobby Jay Bliss find his way to SAFETY?

4. How does Heather portray Nick in her article?

5. Why does Nick survive the attempt on his life by the nico-terrorists?

6. Describe Budd Rohrabacher.

7. Describe the Captain.

8. How does Nick fare in the Oprah show?

9. How have Naylor's fortunes changed when he returns to the Academy at the beginning of Chapter 7?

10. Why was Nick Naylor fired as a television reporter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Buckley uses setting in Thank You for Smoking to show the different fiefdoms created by powerful industries in America. Write an essay about the three most prevalent locations in the novel. What industry does the reader associate with each setting? How does this industry permeate every aspect of this setting? What characters are most dominant in each city, and how do they affect their surroundings in a palpable way?

Part 1) Washington, DC

Part 2) Los Angeles

Part 3) Winston-Salem

Essay Topic 2

The Washington, DC, of Thank You for Smoking is one in which trusted - or at least reliable - institutions are crumbling and corrupt. They live by lies and the drive of individual ambition of those within them. Write an essay in three parts about the lapsed institutions of the novel:

Part 1) The dominant culture of Washington, DC, is politics. What is known about the politicians in the novel? Are they intelligent, trustworthy, or ethical? Do they want much of anything beyond publicity? Cite individual examples of politicians in the text.

Part 2) The press in Washington, DC, is primarily represented by the character of Heather Holloway. What is her primary objective in the novel, and how does she go about attaining it? Are her tactics in keeping with what one would generally call journalistic ethics?

Part 3) Nick Naylor bends over backwards trying to justify his work in the lobbying industry in Washington D.C. How is his lobby ethically compromised beyond even the lax standards of lobbying firms in general? Who in the Academy is most indicative of this internal rot?

Essay Topic 3

The characters of Thank You for Smoking are almost uniformly compromised, selfish, and deeply callous. Only a few characters attempt to do what is right, and they generally pay a price for it. Write an essay about these good souls. What does each one attempt to do to make things better? How are they invariably foiled in their attempts? Do any of these good hearts succeed in making some form of change in the system? If so, how does this come about?

Part 1) Lorne Lutch

Part 2) Polly Bailey

Part 3) Gomez O'Neal

(see the answer keys)

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