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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. How many days has Joe been sick in his life?

2. What do the workers tell Jose to do?

3. In what month is Joe's birthday?

4. What does Joe want to do most as he is lying in bed injured?

5. Joe would think he was dead except why?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Joe think being the way he is is worse than being in the womb?

2. Why doesn't Joe worry about loss of appetite?

3. What book did Joe read that gave him a nightmare and what was that nightmare?

4. When did Joe become aware of the war and what events in the war occurred at that time?

5. What does Joe think when he thinks of his family and what does he see as the reality?

6. How does Joe think he might be able to tell being awake and asleep with no eyes?

7. When is Joe's birthday; how did they celebrate; and what present did Glen give him one year? What came a few months after that present?

8. Why does he worry about a ring? What kind of ring is it and who gave it to him?

9. What doesn't Joe understand about being alive?

10. Why does Joe think he is dying and why does he know he is alive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It is obvious even in the first few chapters that Joe Bonham is severely injured. Later, the reader learns the extent of his injuries. Discuss one of the following:

1. What is the extent of Joe's injuries and is it realistic that he would have survived such a situation in the early part of the 20th century? Does this lack of realism make a difference in reading the book? Give examples to support your thesis.

2. Would you have preferred death over an existence such as Joe's after his injury? Why or why not? Would it be moral to end Joe's life if he makes it very clear that is his wish? Explain fully.

3. Discuss the concept of quality of life over quantity of days, using examples from the text and your personal experience.

Essay Topic 2

When one is unconscious, there is no such thing as time, and when fading in and out, people feel time bunch up--like women in labor for three days saying it seems like ten hours. Considering he may have been like this for two years, Bonham feels a panicky dread. He needs to "trap" time and get back into the world. Discuss one of the following:

1. How does Joe Bonham think of time and eventually "trap" time?

2. What are the ways humans measure time and why does Bonham have such difficulty figuring out a system to measure time? Why do you think he wants to know about the passage of time?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the construct of time? Use examples both from the text and your own experience.

Essay Topic 3

For a few brief moments at the end of the book before Joe is sedated, he is able to communicate his desire to have a purpose. Discuss the following:

1. What does Joe offer to do? Is this a wise thing to suggest?

2. What is the response to Joe's offer? Why?

3. Why is having a sense of purpose so important to Joe?

4. Do you think Joe will re-think what he offers given the response and try to communicate again? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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