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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. Where does Howard stop and sleep on his way to visit George in 1953?

2. What food does Megan prepare for Howard before she leaves to care for her mother over Christmas in Chapter 4?

3. Where does George live in 1953?

4. For how long does Howard's mother insist he not speak in order for his tongue to heal after his first seizure in Chapter 3?

5. What does Howard witness a fish do as he sits in the pond watching the Indian in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Howard's medical condition change after he moves away and begins living under an alias?

2. How is Howard's death described in Chapter 4? What is this description juxtaposed against?

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

4. What characters are introduced during Howard's journey to search for his father in Chapter 3, Part 2?

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

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

7. Where does Howard go to search for his father after Reverend Crosby's disappearance in Chapter 3?

8. How did Howard's loss of his own father later influence his actions with his wife and children?

9. Whom does George ask for when he awakens in Chapter 4, Part 1? Who is sitting with George?

10. Where does Megan go during the Christmas holidays in 1953? What does Howard do after she leaves?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the character of Cullen in the novel. What is Cullen’s business relationship to Howard Crosby? How would you describe Cullen’s business practices? Do you think that Howard gives a fair assessment of Cullen? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the contemporary setting of Tinkers. What clues in the narrative indicate the time period in which George lay dying in the hospital bed in his living room? Where does George live with his wife? Where are his family members visiting from?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the nonlinear aspects of Tinkers. When and where in the story does the narrative go back and forward through time? Why does the author make these abrupt shifts? Why do you think the author chooses not to delineate the transitions in the narrative and time period?

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