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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. Why is the Captain in the hospital in Chapter 14?

2. What type of farm does Lorne Lutch have?

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

4. How does Nick physically react to the cigarette he smokes in Chapter 13?

5. Who tells Nick that the Captain has died in Chapter 26?

Short Essay Questions

1. What deal do Jeff Megall and Nick discuss in Chapter 17?

2. Describe Nick's arrest in Chapter 24?

3. Describe the hotel that Nick goes to in Chapter 17.

4. What issues in Chapter 19 make Nick uneasy about agrees to a deal with Jeff Megall?

5. What concerns has the Captain long had about BR that he reveals in Chapter 25?

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

7. What plan is Senator Finisterre trying to pass through Congress in Chapter 19?

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

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

10. What do Allman and Monmaney find that prompts them to arrest Nick in this section?

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

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

Essay Topic 3

Throughout most of the novel, the nico-terrorists seem like a credible and immediate danger to Nick Naylor. They turn out, in the end, to be a red herring designed to catalyze Nick's public discrediting. Write an essay about this process int he novel. How are the nico-terrorists introduced? Why are they unsuccessful in killing Nick? How does the reader become aware that their organization is a farce? Sum up the essay by explaining who the terrorists, are.

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