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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 is the second thing the man Chinaski tries to help drops?
(a) His paperwork.
(b) His medication.
(c) His cane.
(d) His hearing aid.

2. Where is Chinaski's favorite place in "My Vanishing Act"?
(a) A baseball field.
(b) A graveyard.
(c) A football field.
(d) A meadow.

3. In "The Stride," how old does Chinaski recall being?
(a) Twenty-four
(b) Nineteen.
(c) Thirty.
(d) Twenty-one

4. Where is Chinaski in "Sunny Side Down"?
(a) A park.
(b) A movie theater.
(c) A diner.
(d) A grocery store.

5. Which poem is a short quip in which Bukowski says it is still nice to be Bukowski?
(a) "The Chemistry of Things."
(b) "Well, That's Just the Way It Is."
(c) "Rift."
(d) "The Still Trapeze."

Short Answer Questions

1. How much does Chinaski owe to the IRS?

2. What was the name of Chinaski's teacher?

3. According to Chinaski, where are all of his defenders?

4. In "Putrefaction," back to which decade does Chinaski think the country is regressing?

5. In "The Master Plan," where does Chinaski survive a harsh winter?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Chinaski juxtapose "Stride" and "The Final Story"?

2. Describe the message of "For the Concerned."

3. Describe the message Bukowski presents in "Darkness."

4. How is Chinaski portrayed in "Zero"?

5. Which poem expresses a counterpoint of an indulgent and listless life?

6. What does Chinaski point out in "Termites of the Page"?

7. Which poems best reflect Chinaski's connection to generations of artists preceding him and why?

8. Describe the role of loss in Bukowski's poetry.

9. Describe Chinaski's feelings for John Fante.

10. What is significant about the poems following "The Master Plan" in terms of imagery?

(see the answer keys)

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