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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 story does Bogus tell Colm each night before bed?

2. What fascinates Colm at Tulpen's house?

3. In Bogus's dreams, what fact do people not believe about Merrill?

4. Why does the character in Akthelt and Gunnel not want their son visiting the father?

5. What change to his operation does Bogus consider in Chapter 30?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the line from the diary familiar and important?

2. How does Bogus reflect on the life of a prostitute?

3. How does Tulpen describe Bogus to Ralph?

4. What did Bogus's return package to his father symbolize?

5. Describe Bogus's new attire.

6. How is Sprog symbolic of Bogus?

7. Why is equality considered destruction in the story of Akthelt and Gunnel?

8. How does Bogus relate his life to cancer?

9. What clues does Bogus see around the house that foreshadow who is staying with Couth?

10. How does the phrase, "There was, of course, no logic to the dwarf's fear of Harold's rather large cat" relate to the movie about Bogus's life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the Water-Method man relate to or express the conflict of society during the time the novel was written? Cite at least three examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

John Irving's writing style in this novel is choppy, bouncing between time periods and points of view. There are also a myriad of writing modes involved. How are each of these elements key to the story that unfolds, as far as the plot and narrative being told?

Essay Topic 3

In what ways does Ralph Parker's film title take on a double meaning? How could this title, and the film itself, be a commentary on the society at large? Has the situation improved or declined since the book's publication? Support your opinion with the text.

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