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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 is Dean's main concern in Chapter 6?

2. In Chapter 19, how are the speakers identified?

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

4. What textual feature does Chapter 9 have that is missing from the other chapters?

5. In Chapter 14, how are Stecyk's interviews described by the IRS?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Wallace have to watch the interviews in Chapter 14?

2. In Chapter 13, why does the main character pay attention to the way he sits?

3. What makes Claude happy in Chapter 2?

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

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

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

7. While describing Stecyk in Chapter 12, what does the narrator comment on about the boy's future?

8. In the beginning of this novel, how does Claude feel about his job?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the author's commentary on government in "The Pale King". What is the preferred relationship between government and citizen? What is the relationship between government and government employee?

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

Knowing that "The Pale King" is unfinished, how does this influence the novel? What impact does this have on the development of the plot and the characters? How does the inclusion of author notes influence these things?

(see the answer keys)

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