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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. Whose head is described as "too small for the rest of his body"?

2. What word does J.P. use to describe how the facility's proprietor makes him feel?

3. What color is J.P.'s wife wearing when they meet?

4. When J.P. physically fights with his wife, what does she do?

5. What did the famous writer who lived near the facility die of?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the story show the progression of alcoholism?

2. Why does the proprietor get a cake for New Year's Eve?

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

4. Describe the character Tiny.

5. How does the narrator feel about his girlfriend?

6. Give an example of sarcasm in the story.

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

8. Give of an example of how the narrator practices avoidance.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

Discuss why the author uses so many idiomatic expressions (for example, "batting the breeze," "over the hump")? How does the use of idioms reflect the themes of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how emotional and physical isolation are connected in the story.

(see the answer keys)

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