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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 Naylor accuse people like Ron Goode of in Chapter 5?

2. In the Prologue, what does the autocrat in Naylor's story do to those caught selling tobacco?

3. Which famous public figure recently had a sex scandal explode in the restaurant where Nick meets Heather Holloway in Chapter 9?

4. What is written on the sign the nico-terrorist put on Nick in Chapter 12?

5. From what empire is the autocrat that Naylor cites in the prologue?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the history of cigarettes as related by Nick Naylor in Chapter 4.

4. What types of messages does Nick have waiting for him at the Academy in Chapter 7?

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

6. What ominous assignment does BR give Naylor at the end of Chapter 1?

7. How is Nick's Larry King interview interrupted with some shocking news?

8. What does the reader learn about Gazelle in Chapter 7?

9. In Chapter 1, what differences between BR and his predecessor does Naylor note?

10. Describe the Captain.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about cigarettes as a symbol in the novel. How are cigarettes at once an enduring icon in American history and a sort of scapegoat for American excess? What do cigarettes symbolize in Buckley's novel? How does the attitudes and biases surrounding them permeate every aspect of Nick Naylor's life? How do they simultaneously endanger him and save his life in the novel? In summation, discuss whether cigarettes are presented in a largely positive or negative light.

Essay Topic 2

Nick Naylor's perpetual fight against the "gaspers" means a consistent argument that they stand in the way of American values, more so than big tobacco does. Write an essay about Nick's constant debate with the neo-Puritanical elements of America in three parts:

Part 1) Discuss Nick's appearance on Oprah with the kid dying of cancer and Ron Goode. How is the deck stacked against Nick at the beginning of the program, and how does Nick turn the tables? What accusations does he lob at Goode and OSAP, and how does Goode respond? What makes the show a victory for the Academy?

Part 2) Discuss the ongoing argument between Senator Finisterre and Nick. What changes does the Senator want to enact regarding cigarettes? What arguments does Nick make over the course of the novel to rebut these changes? Why does Nick come off so much better than the Senator in this argument?

Part 3) Sum up the essay by discussing what Nick Naylor's central argument about freedom is. What does he consider men like Senator Finisterre and Ron Goode threats to American freedom? What do they want that is incompatible with democracy, according to Nick?

Essay Topic 3

Thank You for Smoking is in many respects a satire on the nanny-state that developed in America in the mid-1990's. Write an essay about how the efforts of the "gaspers" reflect the domestic policies of the Clinton years. How are characters like Senator Finisterre and Gordon Craighead portrayed in the novel? Are they protecting Americans, in Buckley's opinion, or curtailing their freedoms? What was happening in America at the time that this novel was published that is reflected in the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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