View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Kilgore discover as the driver describes the bad novel?

2. What did Rabo tell the people surrounding him at the piano to make them adore him?

3. After reading Kilgore's book, what does Dwayne believe about everyone else?

4. In the epilogue, what is Kilgore looking for as he wanders around the local hospital?

5. What does Dwayne take off of Kilgore's table?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the conflict that Dwayne might have with his twin brothers, Lyle and Kyle?

2. What is it that The Narrator claims has been stalking him throughout the book?

3. In Chapter 20, what does the desk clerk at the hotel say to Kilgore about his work?

4. What is the connection between Dwayne's house and the stream of pollution that Kilgore wades through?

5. How are Wayne and the reader similar to one another in Chapter 19?

6. What does The Narrator state is the spiritual climax of the novel?

7. What is the book, Now It Can Be Told, that Kilgore reads in the car about?

8. In Now It Can Be Told, what is the main difference between the creator of the universe and the reader?

9. What does Dwayne do when he fails to punch Wayne outside of the hotel?

10. What is one of the events in the novel that The Narrator believes he could have done differently?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The two main protagonists of Breakfast of Champions, Kilgore Trout and Dwayne Hoover, have had tumultuous relationships throughout their lives beginning in childhood and moving on into their adulthood. Assess the two characters, based on their relationships with others, and conclude whether they are, in fact, similar to one another or foils.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, numerous coincidences are mentioned linking characters, places and events. Describe several of these coincidences and argue whether they are significant to the narrative, or trivial. How do they affect the narrative? How do they affect characters? Do they not affect anything at all? Use specific examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

How could the Sacred Miracle Cave that Kyle and Lyle Hoover run be a metaphor for Breakfast of Champions? Support your answer with specific examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 837 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample