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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 was the total population of the earth during the time of Julius Caesar?

2. How many years after Beethoven went completely deaf, did he finish the Ninth Symphony?

3. The man who has a car with a dead battery says he took another class the same time as his auto mechanics class. What class does he say he took at the same time as his mechanics class?

4. When Fulghum experiences his solace from depression, where does he lie down?

5. What city did the man test the theory that no one can be trusted in Chapter 16?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Fulghum tell the reader in Chapter 16 to not be mislead by the stories we hear of crookedness and corruption?

2. Describe how Fulghum listens to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

3. In Chapter 34, Fulghum discusses the two items that make up the majority of stuff. What are some of the other miscellaneous items that make up stuff?

4. In Chapter 28, why does Robert Fulghum buy a cuckoo clock?

5. In Chapter 36, what happens when Fulghum stops to help a couple that has a dead car battery and he and the stranded man try to find the battery?

6. What happened in Chapter 24 when Fulghum tries to organize a game of giants, wizards, and dwarfs?

7. In Chapter 20, what kind of people does Fulghum say he lives in awe of?

8. How does Fulghum explain how the people of imagination mentioned in Chapter 37 stand on one another's shoulders?

9. In Chapter 33, what does Fulghum say is his first clue that Elias Schwartz is the new Haiho Lama?

10. In Chapter 29, what does the couple that lives across the street from the author buy to ride on, and how does the couple ride it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Donnie's character from Chapter 30. Which of Donnie's qualities makes it hard for Fulghum to turn down his raking inquiry? What was Donnie's work ethic like? Even though Robert Fulghum didn't really want his leaves raked, do you think he was glad that he hired Donnie to help? If so, in what ways? Why do you think Donnie didn't charge Fulghum more money than his normal rate even though Fulghum's yard was abnormally full of leaves? What does this say about Donnie's character and desire to work? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 51, Fulghum discusses Mother Teresa. Why do you think the author waits until the end of the book to tell his story about Mother Teresa? Does her story help conclude Fulghum's book in any way? Why do you think Fulghum says that Mother Teresa has "profoundly disturbed my peace of mind for a long time"? Fulghum even goes as far as to say that she drives him crazy. Why do you think he sets up her story in this manner? Use examples from the book to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Mr. Washington is mentioned a couple times in the book as Fulghum's neighbor. Fulghum and Mr. Washington seem to share a strong bond even though they have a lot of differences. What are some of Robert Fulghum's and Mr. Washington's differences? What kinds of things bond the two neighbors together? Why do you think these two neighbors were such good friends? Do you think Mr. Washington saw the simple things in life as Robert Fulghum does? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,190 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample