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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 word used in Chapter 3 refers to a didactic story which illustrates instructive lessons or principles?
(a) Parable.
(b) Enumeration.
(c) Psalm.
(d) Fable.

2. Approximately how old is George as he lay dying in the novel?
(a) 60.
(b) 90.
(c) 70.
(d) 80.

3. Around what year does Howard say the local Indian died or disappeared during his childhood in Chapter 3?
(a) 1926.
(b) 1856.
(c) 1911.
(d) 1896.

4. The narrator says in the opening of Chapter 4, "During the days, George was aware of a large group of people murmuring and flowing in and out of the room as if on tides." What literary device is used in this sentence?
(a) Simile.
(b) Personification.
(c) Literary allusion.
(d) Onomatopoeia.

5. What kind of car is Nikki Bocheki driving when he visits George in Chapter 4?
(a) A black Rolls Royce.
(b) A blue Jeep.
(c) A red Alfa Romeo.
(d) A mint-green Cadillac.

Short Answer Questions

1. How much money is hidden in George's workbench downstairs in Chapter 4?

2. Nikki Bocheki is described in Chapter 4 as an acquaintance of George's from where?

3. What is Nikki Bocheki's profession?

4. What is Howard's father's profession?

5. What alias does Howard Crosby take on when he moves to Philadelphia?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is epilepsy? How was this disorder treated in the 1920s/1930s?

2. How is the disappearance of Reverend Crosby described in Chapter 3, Part 1? How does Howard's mother address the issue?

3. How do George's memories of his father relate to the theme of rites of passage in Tinkers?

4. How does the theme of competition apply to the characters of Howard and Reverend Crosby?

5. What is symbolic about the descriptions of Reverend Crosby fading from Howard's vision in Chapter 3, Part 1?

6. What alias does Howard Crosby take on after he leaves his family? Where does he go?

7. How would you describe the language style of Tinkers? Is the language easy to understand?

8. How does the theme of competition apply to the characters and relationship of George and Howard Crosby in Tinkers?

9. What hallucinations does Howard experience in Tagg Pond in Chapter 3, Part 2?

10. What is the principle motif used throughout Tinkers? What does this motif represent?

(see the answer keys)

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