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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. In the italicized section of Chapter 5, what is the girl writing in her notebook when the Kid wants to look at it?

2. Who owns the restaurant or the building that the restaurant is in that Kline and Bobby go to?

3. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 7, what does the agent say Bobby is under investigation for?

4. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 7, what old friend does Bobby say asks after John?

5. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 6, in what year does Bobby arrive in Paris?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Bobby's response to the IRS agent at the post office?

2. What does the girl say to the Kid about why she does not write down her mathematical conjectures?

3. What happens to Bobby when goes to the jack-up rig?

4. One night while Bobby is in Wartburg, Bobby mentions Alice's papers. Who is Alice? What happened to her?

5. Where does Bobby go to live for the winter after having his conversation with Kline about Bobby getting on with his life?

6. In Chapter 5, when Bobby meets Sheddan for lunch, at the beginning of their conversation how does Sheddan describe Bobby as an archetypal figure?

7. Who visits Bobby while he is living alone in a shack by the beach? Why does the person who visits Bobby say that he is there?

8. After recounting his time in Eastern State, why does John say that he is somewhat reluctant about Tulsa being back in his life?

9. What is in the trunk that the Kid brings into the girl's room?

10. What does the IRS do to Bobby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does the author include a lengthy conversation about who killed John F. Kennedy? What is your experience of reading this section? How is this lengthy conversation a different experience than the one about math and physics? What are you able to grasp from a careful reading of this conversation? How does this conversation connect to the idea of reality compared to the perception of reality? Or the idea that perception shapes reality?

Essay Topic 2

What does this book say about beauty? What does beauty represent in this book? How is beauty connected to reality? How is beauty connected to the deep heart of number which may only exist as unreality or subconscious? How are math and physics related to beauty? Can beauty be detrimental to those who are taken in by it? How so?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the sensation that you have when you read the passages between the Kid and Alicia. How do they compare to the passages that focus on Bobby? What are the differences? Are there similarities or parallels?

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