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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 reason does Nick give the viceroy in Chapter 16 for needing to speak in the bathroom?

2. What does the Captain do for Nick at the end of Chapter 16?

3. Which character in this section attempts to get information about Nick's case from contacts at the FBI?

4. Where does BR send Nick in Chapter 16 to meet Lady Bent?

5. What does Nick indignantly argue with the MOD Squad in Chapter 13?

Short Essay Questions

1. What request does the Captain make of Nick in Chapter 13?

2. In Chapter 20, how does Nick rebut Senator Finisterre's cigarette criticism on Nightline?

3. Why is Nick unable to get counsel from Carlinsky in Chapter 26?

4. What does Heather imply to Nick in Chapter 21?

5. How does Nick convince Lady Bent to speak against trade regulations in Chapter 16?

6. What does Nick think truly has happened to him since the attack?

7. Why does Nick decide to go to Winston-Salem in Chapter 25?

8. Describe the argument the MOD Squad has in Chapter 13.

9. What is odd about Monmaney and Allman's question is Chapter 14?

10. Who is Jack Bein?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nick Naylor is portrayed in the novel as a man who is consistently marginalized by society not because of race or beliefs, but because he has allied himself with a deeply unpopular entity. Write an essay about this marginalization in three parts:

Part 1) How does the Prologue of the novel express the omnipresent antipathy Nick Naylor faces in life? What does society at large dislike about what he does? How has Nick adapted to this antipathy? What defenses has he developed?

Part 2) Discuss the relationship that exists among the members of the MOD Squad in the novel. What do the three of them discuss when they meet for lunch? What do they understand about each other's life that most of society cannot?

Part 3) Describe the public attitude that surround's Nick's work, and how this attitude lends credence to the abduction and attempted murder. Are death threats a regular part of Nick Naylor's life? What precautions does the Academy take regarding these omnipresent fears?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the Academy of Tobacco Studies. Begin by analyzing its name, how it is itself an act of brazen deception. Who founds the Academy, and what historical event in the late 1950's precipitates its founding? At the beginning of the novel, what is the public perception of the Academy and Nick as a representative of it? In summation, discuss how the Academy serves as a symbol for all lobbyists in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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