View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Chapter 1 explain the plot of this novel?

2. How does Claude know Reynolds?

3. In Chapter 9, what does the author say is the IRS' biggest strength?

4. In Chapter 9, what does the author say about financial gain relating to this novel?

5. What is revealed to be a joke in Chapter 14?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 10, how does the author explain the existence of the bureaucratic systems he describes?

2. What makes Chapter 4 different from Chapters 1-3?

3. In Chapter 9, what does the author say is wrong with his publisher?

4. What makes Chapter 20 confusing in the construction of this novel?

5. Why does the author talk about the dullness of the IRS in Chapter 9?

6. In Chapter 5, how is the boy described?

7. How is Claude's psychic ability described in Chapter 15?

8. In Chapter 9, what does the author say about the first few pages of any book?

9. How does Stecyk change from Chapter 12 to Chapter 14?

10. How do the girl and her mother get away in Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Research the IRS to compare the IRS details in the novel to the truth. Why might the author have maintained some facts and disregarded others?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the commentary on employment that occurs in this novel. Compare and contrast the types of employment and the relationship between the careers of the characters and their overall happiness.

Essay Topic 3

What is the effect of the loosely connected characters of "The Pale King" on the development of the plot? What is the relationship between plot and characterization?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 808 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample