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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. Which pop-culture icon is Murray most interested in studying?

2. What does she teach there?

3. What was the name of the psychic the police used to help them find Mr. Treadwell?

4. Who is Bee's mother?

5. Where does Denise find Babette's Dylar bottle?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of exercise does Babette do? Does Jack join in?

2. Describe the family lunch the Gladneys eat, in terms of who attended, what they ate and what the mood was.

3. Jack opens up Chapter 20 by listing various people's deaths and talking about how they died. Name one of them, and describe why you think Jack is listing them.

4. Why does Jack think the Treadwells did not ask for help when they were lost?

5. Describe how Murray interacts with Jack and Babette at the supermarket.

6. Why is the chair of the department of American environments (the pop-culture department) opposed to Murray's establishment of Elvis studies?

7. Why does Babette ask if Bee and Steffie know each other?

8. What is Babette's attitude toward parents watching television with their children?

9. What is Jack's position at the college?

10. What is the mood of the family when they are shopping at the mall?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Wilder, Jack and Babette's youngest child, is non-verbal in a family of fast-talking, bright and pretty evasive/elliptical conversationalists. Write an analytical essay that explains Wilder's function in the narrative. Be sure to offer an explanation of how Wilder affects the plot, characterization, mood, etc.

Essay Topic 2

Murray is a secondary character who is nonetheless crucial to Jack's characterization and to the book's humor. Write an analytical essay that 1) offers a brief character sketch of Murray and 2) an analysis of the specific fictional techniques (setting/tone/mood, plot event/action, dialogue/interaction) that DeLillo employs to characterize Murray. Why is he important to this text?

Essay Topic 3

Another critique of dominant society that DeLillo offers in this novel is Dylar, a fictional drug that is as absurd as it is plausible. Consider Dylar on its symbolic literal and symbolic levels, and discuss how this pharmaceutical affects these characters, and what DeLillo wants to say about a reliance on designer prescription drugs. Was DeLillo prescient? Based on your research into medications, are there drugs on the market like Dylar?

(see the answer keys)

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