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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. At the end of "Someday I'm Going to Write a Primer . . ." Chinaski declares his love to whom?
(a) His wife.
(b) Writing.
(c) His fears.
(d) The reader.

2. In "Seize the Day," what makes the grotesque man popular?
(a) He got a job.
(b) He won the lottery.
(c) He moved away.
(d) He had a child.

3. What happens to all good poetry at the end of "Me and My Buddy"?
(a) It becomes more abundant.
(b) It is lost for a short while.
(c) It disappears.
(d) It does not change.

4. In "Song," what does Chinaski's friend sing a song about?
(a) A family.
(b) A pet.
(c) A girl.
(d) A dead man.

5. Where does Chinaski imagine himself in "Me and My Buddy"?
(a) Australia.
(b) China.
(c) Japan.
(d) Indonesia.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is most evident in "I Thought the Stuff Tasted Worse than Usual"?

2. In "Not Listed," Chinaski runs into an ex-jockey named ___________.

3. Where does Chinaski get out of his car in "Hard Times"?

4. Where is Chinaski in "Longshot"?

5. Why does Chinaski think that many women go to bed with him in "Working"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How and why does Chinaski focus on domestic life in some of the poems?

2. What allegory is present in "The Death of a Splendid Neighborhood"?

3. Why is "An Ordinary Poem" significant in terms of defining Chinaski?

4. Describe the poem "Invasion."

5. In "Help Wanted," what does Chinaski fear?

6. Describe the conclusion Chinaski arrives at in "Wearing the Collar" and "A Cat is a Cat is a Cat is a Cat."

7. Describe Bukowski's portrayal of populism in his poems.

8. Why does Chinaski think he has so many female critics?

9. What does the lion in "Invasion" represent?

10. Is Bukowski seixst? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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