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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 is Howard's father's profession?

2. Where did the local Indian work for many summers cutting wood, according to the narrator in Chapter 3?

3. George reveals that he has an inscribed first edition printing of what novel in one of his safety deposit boxes in Chapter 4?

4. What word from Chapter 3 refers to a circle of the earth passing through the poles and the observer's zenith?

5. What book is cited with the description of the inner workings of a clock in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What regret does Howard display regarding his father in the beginning of Chapter 3?

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

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

4. How are George's finances described in Chapter 4, Part 1? Why does George concern himself with his finances?

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

6. How would you compare the "disappearances" of Reverend Crosby and Howard Crosby in the novel?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Kathleen’s mindset as she takes George to see the doctor in Chapter 2. What do you think Kathleen and Dr. Box are discussing when Kathleen cries? How does George respond to seeing his mother in a vulnerable state? How does Kathleen go about composing herself?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author’s style of dialogue in the novel. Why do you think that Paul Harding chooses not to use quotation marks when the characters speak to one another? How does this choice affect you as a reader? How is the choice reflective of the themes in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author’s literary allusions in Tinkers to The Scarlet Letter. When was The Scarlet Letter written? What subject matter is the story focused on? Where did Nathaniel Hawthorne supposedly attend college with the hermit Gilbert in Tinkers? What similarities do you see between the subjects and themes of The Scarlet Letter and Tinkers? Why do you think the author chooses to allude to this novel in Tinkers?

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