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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 business does Marie in "A Lovely Love Affair" run?

2. How does Ramon Vasquez die?

3. Fill in the blank: Bukowski and Madge win big on Claremount III and __________.

4. At what address are the surgeries on the president of the United States performed in "Swastika?"

5. When the officer confronts Bukowski in "My Big-Assed Mother," what does he keep trying to undo (which Bukowski manages to keep from happening)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Madge first take Bukowski to Hollywood Park?

2. What happens to Blanchard after the attack?

3. Describe the ironic encounter between Mason and the waiter at the end of "All the Great Writers."

4. At the end of the story, what is revealed as the reason for the narrator's presence at the bar, and what does this suggest about his feelings on the whole encounter?

5. Describe some of the preparations taken before the conspiracy to replace the President's brain and larynx with Hitler's own body parts.

6. Why does Bukowski decide to find a better girlfriend than Madge at the end of the story?

7. How and why does Vasquez extend his hospitality to Lincoln and Andrew?

8. Who are some of the famous writers discussed in "The Day We Talk About James Thurber" and why?

9. What does Charlie leave Marie?

10. What is significant about the U.S.S. Pueblo?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the depictions of abusive relationships in the following format:

Part 1) Tanya and Von Brashlitz.

Part 2) Vicki and Bukowski.

Part 3) Tony and Bill taking advantage of the dead woman's body.

Part 4) Infidelity, as seen in "3 Women" and "Trouble with a Battery."

Part 5) Henry and Sarah from "Six Inches."

Develop a clear thesis statement on this subject and cite specific examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

How does Bukowski depict his different lovers throughout his stories? In what ways does he differentiate between his casual flings and those for whom he has true feelings? What does this suggest about his relationship to sex? What is significant about Bukowski portraying himself as being in an abusive relationship with Vicki in "3 Chickens?" How does this contrast with his loving sacrifice of a relationship with Marie in "A Lovely Love Affair?"

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of fantasy in the stories by Bukowski in the following format:

Part 1) Bukowski's method of dealing with the meat-packing plant.

Part 2) Tony and Bill's feelings about their stolen body.

Part 3) Blanchard's obsession with the little girl.

Part 4) The narrator's sexual encounter with the prostitute in "Trouble with a Battery."

Part 5) Bukowski's attempts to write in "Twelve Flying Monkeys Who Won't Copulate Properly."

Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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