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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. How many children does the narrator's girlfriend have?
(a) One son.
(b) Two sons.
(c) A son and a daughter.
(d) One daughter.

2. Where do J.P. and his wife go on their first date?
(a) A baseball game.
(b) The movies.
(c) A bar.
(d) A fast-food restaurant.

3. What is the proprietor wearing when he speaks to J.P. and the narrator on the porch?
(a) A wool coat.
(b) A down vest.
(c) A down jacket.
(d) A sweater.

4. What animal noise does Tiny make when he comes downstairs one morning?
(a) Mooing.
(b) Meowing.
(c) Barking.
(d) Quacking.

5. What happens to Tiny one day at breakfast?
(a) He has a stroke.
(b) He chokes on his food.
(c) He has a heart attack.
(d) He has a seizure.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the narrator, what is the physical appearance of his landlord?

2. In what way does J.P.'s violent streak first show up?

3. What time of day is it when J.P. begins telling stories to the narrator?

4. What does J.P. look like?

5. According to the narrator, what is J.P.'s emotional state at the beginning of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What economic class do you think the narrator is from and why?

2. In the section about the landlord, what does the narrator's nakedness represent?

3. What is the significance of New Year's Eve in the story?

4. What does the narrator's appetite represent?

5. Discuss how J.P.'s experience as a child in the well mirrors his experience as an adult alcoholic.

6. Describe the character Frank Martin.

7. Give an example of hopelessness in the story.

8. What does Roxy's name suggest?

9. What is the plot of "To Build a Fire," the story the narrator remembers reading?

10. How does J.P. treat his wife?

(see the answer keys)

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