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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 was J.P. doing when he met his wife?
(a) Talking to another girl.
(b) Playing cards.
(c) Drinking and playing records.
(d) Drinking cheap wine.

2. When the story opens, how long have the narrator and J.P. been at the facility?
(a) One day.
(b) A few hours.
(c) Two weeks.
(d) A few days.

3. What health news does the narrator's girlfriend receive on Christmas Eve?
(a) She has an abnormal Pap smear.
(b) She is pregnant.
(c) She has a malignant tumor.
(d) She has to have surgery.

4. How old is J.P. when he falls down a dry well?
(a) Ten.
(b) Twelve.
(c) Eleven.
(d) Five.

5. According to the narrator, what is J.P.'s emotional state at the beginning of the story?
(a) Hopeful.
(b) Resentful.
(c) Scared.
(d) Angry.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who rescues J.P. from the well?

2. How old is J.P. when he meets his wife?

3. What is the name of the narrator's landlord?

4. How does J.P.'s wife respond to the advice to leave her husband?

5. Why does the narrator's landlord grin when he sees him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator's appetite represent?

2. What is the significance of Christmas in the story?

3. Why does the proprietor tell the narrator and J.P. that Jack London was an alcoholic?

4. Why is J.P. drawn to his wife when they meet?

5. Chimney sweeping is an uncommon job. Why would the author choose it?

6. How do the narrator's two trips to the treatment facility differ?

7. Is the narrator's girlfriend also an alcoholic?

8. Why does the author keep mentioning the coal bucket?

9. Why does J.P. say the proprietor makes him feel like a "bug"?

10. Choose a character and explain why he or she is sympathetic.

(see the answer keys)

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