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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. How does Stecyk's neighbors react to him in Chapter 12?

2. How does the author represent questions during the interviews in Chapter 14?

3. How does the author describe the man in Chapter 5?

4. What is the main topic of Chapter 11?

5. What year is given to the interview files in Chapter 14?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How do the characters in Chapter 18 react to Desk Names?

3. What is Stecyk's job in Chapter 14?

4. What does Stecyk try to do in Chapter 12?

5. What types of information does the author provide via interview in Chapter 14?

6. Why does the author claim this novel is memoir in Chapter 9?

7. What point does the author make about the "information society" in Chapter 9?

8. How could the interview in Chapter 21 be described?

9. In Chapter 16, what does Lane Dean Jr.'s character reveal about the work of the IRS?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

How do characters remain the same as they age? How do they change? Compare and contrast the characters who change vs. those who remain the same. What message does this deliver about childhood and the transition into adulthood?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the layering of people named David Foster Wallace in this novel. Explore the relationship between the three Davids in the novel: the author, the narrator and the character. What makes these people different? What makes them the same?

(see the answer keys)

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