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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. What is the key difference between Wallace and Antitoi?

2. Wallace describes his tennis career as ______ successful.

3. At the beginning of "E Unibus Pluram," what does Wallace describe fiction writers as NOT enjoying?

4. What does Wallace most like about the Expo Building at the state fair?

5. The clogger competition leaves Wallace with a sense of a specific ______.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the idea of Image-Fiction? Why does it exist?

2. Why did the students argue with their professor's position that works should make no reference to a specific time period?

3. As a child, what did Wallace believe the purpose of carnivals was?

4. What connection does Wallace see between tennis, geography, and the wind?

5. According to Wallace, are commercials self-aware? What is the effect of this on the viewer?

6. Was Wallace a "boring" tennis player? How so?

7. Does Wallace agree with Hix's argument about "authors"? Why or why not?

8. How does sexual harassment make a clear distinction between Eastern and Midwestern women for Wallace?

9. How does Wallace feel about the setting for "Lost Highway"? Why does he feel this way?

10. Does the plot of "Lost Highway" make sense? Is it supposed to make sense?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Two of Wallace's essays in the collection discuss his experiences while on writing assignments. Discuss how these essays differ from the other essays and arguments. How does Wallace approach assignments? How does it shape the way he writes?

Essay Topic 2

Wallace discusses his successes and failures in sports and art. At times, he is humble but at others one could sense bitterness. In the situation with the bigger and more luxurious cruise ship, Wallace is suddenly aware of his desires. Discuss Wallace's exhibition is his desires openly and subtly. Although Wallace is in control of the reader's experience, does the reader see aspects of Wallace he ignores? What is the effect on the reader and how they interpret his opinions?

Essay Topic 3

Wallace at times is in awe of the nature of the world. At the State Fair, he admires the strong sense of community; in discussing Lynch, he praises his artistic vision; on the cruise, he admires the efficiency and luxury. However, he often begins to criticize the weakness of these things. Discuss how Wallace's shifts his opinion, what inspires this, and the experience for the reader.

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