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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. Which of the following characters does not leave a message for Nick while he is having sex with Jeannette in Chapter 21?

2. What do the FBI agents find in Nick's apartment in Chapter 22?

3. When they first meet in person in Chapter 17, why does Jeff Megall say he wants to do business with the Academy?

4. Why did the Captain place a spy in BR's office?

5. In Chapter 21, what does BR inform Nick the the FBI wants to look at?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How has Sven improved the anti-underage-smoking campaign in Chapter 13?

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

4. How is Nick's tryst in Chapter 15 with Jeannette odd?

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

6. How does Nick deal with the passage of Senator Finisterre's bill in this section?

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

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

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

10. How does the film footage in Chapter 23 look?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of Lorne Lutch. Begin the essay by discussing what famous real-life icon he is based on. Why does his anti-smoking crusade seem infinitely more sincere than that of Senator Finisterre and Gordan Craighead? Discuss the moment when Nick bribes him. How does Nick manage to convince Lorne to sacrifice his ideals? What is the significance of Nick's decision to lie about Lorne's decision at the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Christopher Buckley uses a convention in the novel that was popular both with Shakespeare and Dickens where he pointedly gives his character's names that obviously reflect their nature. Write an essay in which you choose three characters for whom this is the case. What essential part of each character does his or her name reflect? Does the name act as a forewarning about the character to the reader or does the name's meaning only become clear after the fact?

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