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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 would Howie steal from parent's closet when he was little?

2. What is the name of the book Howie reads during his lunch break?

3. In a Chapter 11 footnote, Howie comments on the new tightness of ______ .

4. Howie desires to gain a encyclopedic knowledge of the relationship between _______.

5. What word is Howie staring at as he stands at the urinal?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Howie consider CVS to be the diary of stores?

2. What causes Howie to consider the intentions of the inventors of the escalator?

3. What does Howie note about eating and drinking at the same time?

4. What are some of the differences Howie notices between corporate bathrooms and home bathrooms?

5. What observations does Howie make about his Revere saucepan?

6. In what way does Howie consider life to be like footnotes?

7. What attracted Howie to the Aurelius book?

8. Who does Howie see in the bathroom engaging in what he considers to be poor bathroom etiquette?

9. What is Howie's dilemma in the men's bathroom?

10. What observations does Howie make about vending machines?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What profound insight does Howie achieve through his stream of consciousness while riding the subway? Could he have had this same insight without the constant stream of trivial thoughts? Is his realization truly profound, transcending the triviality of his mundane thoughts?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the purpose of the character L. Why does she never actually physically appears in the narrative? How does she help create the roundness of Howie's character?

Essay Topic 3

Compare Howie and Marcus Aurelius. What is the significance of Howie's fascination with Aurelius?

(see the answer keys)

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