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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 name of Chinaski's friend in "The Chemistry of Things"?
(a) Mary Anne.
(b) Mary Lou.
(c) Marcy.
(d) Maribelle.

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

3. Who is the subject of the poem "Retired"?
(a) Chinaski's brother.
(b) Chinaski's mother.
(c) A homeless man.
(d) Chinaski's father.

4. In "A Non-urgent Poem," a man says that Chinaski has lost which of the following?
(a) Urgency.
(b) Mood.
(c) Emotion.
(d) Faith.

5. What is the name of the thief who lives in a boarding house in "Bad Times at the 3rd and Vermont Hotel"?
(a) Dakota.
(b) Tenness.
(c) Hondur.
(d) Alabam.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Chinaski's emotion in "I'll Take It..."?

2. Chinaski assures the readers that even though he writes less about drinking and prostitutes, what is still intact?

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

4. What kind of magazines does Chinaski write for in "O Tempora! O Mores!"?

5. Where does Chinaski live?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How is the Chinaski of 1986 described?

3. In his poems, Bukowski acknowledges that all people have what, and why?

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

5. What type of conflict does "Red Mercedes" describe?

6. What does "The Master Plan" reveal about Chinaski?

7. How do many of the poems seem to serve as a defense of listlessness?

8. What metaphor does Chinaski use to symbolize modern America?

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

10. Describe Chinaski's view of humanity.

(see the answer keys)

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