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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What crucial question did Arthur realize he had never asked Robert during their trip to Mexico?
(a) Do you love me?
(b) What are your intentions?
(c) Where is your wife?
(d) Why me?

2. The narrator describes the octopuses at the market as being "coiled into" (55) what objects?
(a) Piles.
(b) Curlicues.
(c) Ampersands.
(d) Pyramids.

3. In what area of New York City had Arthur Less lived for a time after college?
(a) The Meatpacking District.
(b) Long Island.
(c) Manhattan.
(d) The West Village.

4. What language does Arthur mention to his literary escort that he had studied in high school, referring to his choice as a big mistake?
(a) German.
(b) Spanish.
(c) Latin.
(d) French.

5. On what day of the Mexican festival is Arthur scheduled to speak?
(a) Day Five.
(b) Day Two.
(c) Day Three.
(d) Day One.

Short Answer Questions

1. What drug did Arthur and Robert take together during their trip to Mexico?

2. The narrator says, "No one could rival Arthur Less for his ability to exit a room while" (37) performing what action?

3. While Arthur had assumed that Mexico City would be like Phoenix on a smoggy day, what city does he say it is actually like once he sees it?

4. In the front hallway of Arthur's hotel in Mexico, there is an enormous portrait of which artist?

5. For how many years did the relationship between Arthur Less and Freddy last?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what purpose has Arthur come to New York City and what is its end result?

2. What is the actual sound being made when Arthur believes the sound of thunder to be interrupting his reveries during the Italian award ceremony?

3. Why does Arthur automatically lie when he is asked whether he has ever been to Mexico?

4. What is the nature of the current relationship between Arthur and Robert?

5. What is the narrator's hypothesis about why Arthur spends nine years with Freddy?

6. Why does the behavior of the Mexico City festival's organizer perplex Arthur?

7. What is the significance of Arthur's habit of not wearing a watch?

8. How does Arthur feel after his relationship with Robert ends?

9. What is ironic about Marian's last words to Arthur before he dives into the ocean during their first meeting?

10. What is Arthur's literary agent's reaction to Arthur's latest novel?

(see the answer keys)

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