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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 does Mario use as the main characters in his film?

2. Who does Mario interview, who says they have a hard time believing Hal will be punished?

3. What is the name of the man Sorkin sends to kill Gene Fackelmann?

4. What grade did James Incandenza assign to his marriage?

5. Where does Orin meet the Swiss hand model?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Joelle wear the veil?

2. What does Lyle mean when he tells the students never to underestimate objects?

3. What parallels does Wallace draw between the Entertainment and drugs?

4. What kind of relationship did James and Lyle have?

5. Describe the memories James had about his father.

6. Why did Avril have an affair during her marriage to James?

7. What is Remy's view of American culture?

8. Why does Mario ask Avril how to tell if somebody is sad?

9. What does Eric Clipperton's death show the students at Enfield?

10. Who is Randy Lenz?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Hal have a breakdown at the end of the novel? What brought the breakdown on? How does the breakdown lead to the scene that is actually first in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

The character of Lyle is symbolic of one's desire to feed off the exertion of others. What characters fit into this category? Identify at least two characters who might fit into this pattern.

Essay Topic 3

What does the title Infinite Jest suggest about the novel? Why do you think Wallace chose this title?

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