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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 is Big Al unable to play in the big football game the day after the contest?

2. How long is the bus drive to camp?

3. With whom does the narrator share his favorite snack?

4. To the narrator, New Jersey symbolizes ___________________.

5. In what city landmark is the narrator stalled?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the narrator conquer the tailgater just by using his mental prowess?

2. What prompts the narrator to recall his college days?

3. In what circumstances does the narrator find himself as the novel opens and how does he perceive his circumstances?

4. How did Proust and Balzac block out the world and what does that same thing for the narrator?

5. Who is Ernie and what happened to him during the narrator's story of KP duty?

6. What are some New Jersey highway landmarks the narrator mentions?

7. What does the forming of clans among New Jerseyites mean?

8. Why was forestcraft so boring to the narrator and his friends?

9. Why was the narrator underwhelmed by his summer camp experience?

10. How is the narrator--as an observer of life--typically different from people like Umbaugh and Skunk?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Give some examples of humor in the book. Do you think Shepherd appreciated slapstick humor or wit of a more sophisticated nature? Or both? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Shepherd was masterful at crafting literary descriptions for his readers. Choose a paragraph from the book which you find especially descriptive. How do you think Shepherd was able to craft it the way he did? What is so appealing to you about the passage? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Shepherd's writing style. How is he different from other writers of his time? What are some of his characteristic writing techniques? Identify some examples of his classic style in this book.

(see the answer keys)

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