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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. Why does the character above say that s/he feels so good with Wilder?

2. What is the name of the doctor on Babette's pills?

3. What is the name of Book 3?

4. Which family member is the first to know about the spill?

5. Who demands to know the real name of Mr. Gray?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Heinrich crouched outside on the roof at the beginning of Book 2?

2. When the family does not want to cook, where do they go and what do they eat?

3. According to Heinrich, what are the effects of Nyodene Derivative?

4. Where does Jack drive Willie Mink and why?

5. According to Jack, why does this family not have to worry about evacuating or being affected?

6. How did Babette convince Mr. Gray to let her try the Dylar?

7. Why does Jack follow Winnie Richards in Chapter 25? Are his reasons valid?

8. According to Jack, what is the effect weather reports have on the elderly?

9. What causes the family to evacuate, eventually? What is the thing that convinces them?

10. What happened to Cotsakis, Murray's rival in Elvis studies?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Decide whether or not you think this book is funny. If so, write a position paper that explains the humor and why you find it funny/why DeLillo hopes the reader finds it funny. If you do not think it is funny, write a position paper that articulates your opinion of the jokes/humor/irony at work here and why you think it was not effective. Be sure to offer specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the role that television plays in the life of the Gladney family. What is DeLillo trying to communicate about the way Americans watch television, or about what is produced and broadcast? Is this novel a critique of a "media generation"? Has television changed substantially since 1985? Would a new version of this novel include the internet in similar ways? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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