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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. Howie compares CVS to a _________.

2. The corporate bathroom is the one place a _____ can feel important.

3. What did Howie hope the new shoelaces were made of?

4. How many choices are there in the newest vending machine on the mezzanine?

5. What does Howie purchase regularly at CVS?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is one of Howie's favorite games to play on the escalator?

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

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

4. What are some of the odd personal habits of various philosophers that Howie describes?

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

6. What does Howie consider to be the quintessential question about lunch hours?

7. Why does Howie eventually stop trying to walk up or down the escalator?

8. What observations does Howie make about vending machines?

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

10. What activity does Howie describe that both he and L take part in when alone in an elevator?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of the very brief last chapter of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the aesthetic distance created in the novel and the reader's experience of spending the entire time inside Howie's thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

What is the meaning behind the title of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 675 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample