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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 Howie use the cardboard from his dry cleaned shirts for?

2. What time does Howie enter his office building at the beginning of the novel?

3. What time of day is it when Howie was driving behind the garbage truck?

4. As a child, Howie loved_____.

5. What has Howie taken to be repaired by blind people for L?

Short Essay Questions

1. What point is Howie trying to make in his footnote about doorknobs?

2. What is Howie's reaction to his shoelace breaking at work?

3. What compelling realization does Howie remember when driving behind a garbage truck when he is thirty?

4. What does Howie consider to be his sixth major advancement in life?

5. Why does Howie consider the purchase of a rubber stamp to be one of his advancements?

6. Where is Howie when he believes that his great period of growth as a human has ended?

7. What is awkward about Howie trying to sign the poster Tina has gotten for Ray the janitor?

8. What does Howie mean by "vibratiuncles of comparison"?

9. What does Howie mean by "the rule of nostalgia"?

10. Why does Howie purchase a milk carton at Papa Gino's?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the meaning behind the title of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss both the narrative tone and structure of this story and their impact on the reader's experience.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the metaphorical significance of the escalator and how it is used as a vehicle of thought throughout the novel.

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