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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What natural phenomenon does Howard compare his seizures to in Chapter 1?
(a) Lightning.
(b) Hailstorms.
(c) Volcanoes.
(d) Thunder.

2. Why is Howard paid to shoot a dog, according to the narrator in Chapter 1?
(a) The dog attacked a child.
(b) The dog is rabid.
(c) The dog has mange.
(d) The dog attacked a farmer's chickens.

3. What word used in Chapter 2 refers to a device for creating applause in theaters?
(a) Proscenium.
(b) Bungee.
(c) Claptrap.
(d) Claprock.

4. What objects did George begin repairing and trading after his retirement?
(a) Vacuum cleaners.
(b) Computers.
(c) Telephones.
(d) Clocks.

5. What are the names of George's two daughters?
(a) Claire and Betsy.
(b) Kathleen and Emily.
(c) Mary and Anna.
(d) Wilma and Grace.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does George's collapsing house symbolize in the novel?

2. What does George wrap the dead mouse with in Chapter 2?

3. Who are the neighbors that Howard goes to in order to borrow a horse to look for George after he's run away in Chapter 2?

4. Of Kathleen's strict demeanor, the narrator says in Chapter 2, "She could not live with herself if she allowed herself to believe that she treated her own this way because she felt no more connected to them than she would to" what?

5. What ailment does Howard suffer from?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does George discover in his mother's pamphlet in Chapter 2, Part 2? How does she respond when she finds him reading it?

2. What does George think about as he begins his chores on Monday in Chapter 2, Part 1? What does Howard think about?

3. What does George witness as he watches the doctor talking with his mother from the truck in Chapter 2, Part 2?

4. When is the only occurrence when George witnesses firsthand one of his father's seizures?

5. What is signified by Howard's action of building a fire after his seizure in Chapter 1, Part 2?

6. What "odd jobs" of Howard Crosby's are described in Chapter 1?

7. Why do you think the author has constructed Tinkers with a nonlinear timeline? Why does he shift the narrative between Howard and George's stories in Chapter 1?

8. How is the setting described when George awakens "one hundred and thirty-two hours" before he dies in Chapter 1?

9. How would you describe George's relationship to animals and nature based upon his actions in Chapter 2?

10. How would you describe Kathleen's perspective in the story? What are Kathleen's feelings about her family?

(see the answer keys)

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