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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. At the end of Cusk's training in Chapter 27, how does Cusk respond to the training?

2. In Chapter 31, what do the people wait for?

3. What does David see Stecyk do at the end of Chapter 24?

4. In Chapter 24, what does David notice as he walks through the IRS REC building?

5. Why does David present information about his childhood in Chapter 22?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are IRS phantoms?

2. In Chapter 27, what reason is given for possibly not conducting an audit?

3. In Chapter 22, what reason does David give for going to the IRS for a job?

4. How do the IRS employees entertain themselves in Chapter 32?

5. What task is the narrator given by Gary Manshardt in Chapter 35?

6. How does David describe the van ride after he is hired by the IRS?

7. How does David's father's arm get stuck in the train?

8. Why does David feel he wasted his youth in Chapter 22?

9. Why is Lehrl's office so important to Reynolds in Chapter 30?

10. Why doesn't David exit the van in Chapter 24 with the other people?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of interview in "The Pale King"? Consider the interviews conducted with tax payers, IRS employees and people wishing to become IRS employees. What message is conveyed about the interviewing process?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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