View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. "The distinguished female author" (119) sitting across from the unnamed narrator at the literary dinner compliments him on what?
(a) His comments.
(b) His smile.
(c) His tie.
(d) His story.

2. How many years before narrative present did Noor's father die of a heart attack?
(a) 3.
(b) 12.
(c) 19.
(d) 5.

3. Noor tells the unnamed narrator that her late father had shared a "strong sense" of what kind of "identity" (99) with her?
(a) Cuban.
(b) Iranian.
(c) Chilean.
(d) Lebanese.

4. What is the name of the single book the unnamed narrator brings along with him for his residency in Texas?
(a) Natural Days.
(b) Creosote Days.
(c) Specimen Days.
(d) Evolution Days.

5. When the unnamed narrator rises for his first full day in Marfa, he finds his face covered in what substance?
(a) Flour.
(b) Blood.
(c) Makeup.
(d) Paint.

Short Answer Questions

1. To what location is the unnamed narrator referring when he has the distinguished female author in hysterical laughter over the "masturbatorium" (125)?

2. One morning, the unnamed narrator wakes up to find that what noisy activity is going on nearby?

3. When the unnamed narrator feels "too tired to write" (173) one day during his residency he watches The Passion of Joan of Arc, the favorite film of which character?

4. The unnamed narrator guesses that the receptionist at the fertility office is how old?

5. On what day of the week does the unnamed narrator arrive at his residency house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the only low point in the adventure Roberto and the unnamed narrator go on together in Part Three?

2. What is "totaled art" (130) and how had Alena acquired some of it prior to the novel's opening?

3. How does the unnamed narrator react to holding the Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture in Part Three and how do Alena and Peter react to his reaction?

4. Who is Michael and how does the unnamed narrator meet him?

5. How does the theme of fatherhood enter the narrative in Part Four?

6. In what way does the unnamed narrator set up a dichotomy between the art of the "readymade" (133) and the totaled art in Alena's institute?

7. The unnamed narrator finds himself working diligently in Texas, but "on the wrong thing" (170). What other piece does he work on instead?

8. What distinction does the unnamed narrator make between his requirements for reading conditions and his requirements for writing conditions?

9. What mistake does the intern make in Part Four and what similar mistake does the unnamed narrator make?

10. Why does Alex caution the unnamed narrator not to write about medical issues and what evidence does she use for her argument?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,415 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample