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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. Who calls for an ambulance after Tiny's fall?

2. What phrase does the narrator say whenever J.P. stops telling his story about meeting and dating his wife?

3. What kind of head covering does the landlord wear?

4. What does J.P. say his courtship with his wife mainly revolved around?

5. What do J.P. and the narrator do at the end of New Year's Eve?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator not give his name?

2. Is the story sympathetic or not sympathetic to alcoholics, and why?

3. Why is the narrator so enthralled by J.P.'s stories?

4. Why does Roxy say yes to a date with J.P.?

5. Give an example of how the image of hills and valleys is used by the author.

6. What is the significance of the story of "the guy who travels"?

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

8. Give an example of a character feeling stigmatized.

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

10. How does the narrator feel about his girlfriend?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do compassion and forgiveness figure into the story?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the contrasting symbolism of the well and the chimney.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the different ways in which physical vulnerability figures into the story and why.

(see the answer keys)

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