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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 drink does the Captain insist Nick Naylor join him in?

2. What fictional newspaper does Heather Holloway work for?

3. Which of the following is an aspect that makes Polly Bailey particularly attractive?

4. What does BR refuse from Naylor at the beginning of Chapter 4?

5. What news did Naylor accidentally announce on air as a television announcer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What fire is Bobby Jay Bliss putting out in Chapter 2?

2. Describe the Captain.

3. Describe Budd Rohrabacher.

4. What bad news does BR give Naylor at the end of Chapter 4?

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

6. Why is Nick's Today Show interview in Chapter 12 such a hit?

7. How does Heather portray Nick in her article?

8. What issue does Nick have with with Sven Gland's ad campaign in Chapter 7?

9. How is Nick taken hostage in Chapter 11?

10. How does Nick Naylor defend his position at Clean Lungs 2000?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nick Naylor is a dynamic protagonists who achieves dizzying heights and harrowing lows over the course of the novel. Write an essay on the scope of his rise and fall, dividing it into a first part about his high water mark. What is the greatest level of power that Nick achieves as a lobbyist in the novel? The second part should deal with his deepest low. What betrayals and freak incidents contribute to this precipitous fall? In summation, discuss what Nick learns from these events.

Essay Topic 2

Although the novel is told from a third-person point-of-view, much of the action is left in a sort of uncertain state. Write an essay about information withheld by the narrator in the novel. What is the purpose of withholding information? How does the omitting of this information place the reader very much in the same situation as Nick Naylor? Is all of this information connected to the main betrayal at the end? Sum up the essay by discussing the importance of the revelations in the final chapters.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the characters of BR and Jeannette. What forewarning does the reader have that these characters are both deceptive and ambitious? Why does Nick fall prey to their lies even though he knows they are not to be trusted? Specifically, what strange actions does each character undertake over the course of the novel that seem unexplainable? How are they eventually explained by the final betrayal of the novel? What do they reveal about them?

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