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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Gardner writes in Chapter 1 that if one studies with whom, does he learn that Shakespeare is better than Mickey Spillane?
(a) Dr. Martin Meyer.
(b) Dr. Andrew Dryd.
(c) Dr. Michael Mortenson.
(d) Dr. Stanley Fish.

2. The two things that keep the common reader turning the pages, according to Gardner are story or what?
(a) Character.
(b) Argument.
(c) Mood.
(d) Theme.

3. In what novel does Gardner note the rooftop scene as being one of surprise in Chapter 1?
(a) Crime and Punishment.
(b) Seize the Day.
(c) Nicholas Nickleby.
(d) Emma.

4. What did Garner always wear, according to Raymond Carver in the Forward?
(a) A black suit.
(b) A gray suit.
(c) A brown suit.
(d) A gray fedora.

5. What is the first thing that Gardner states a writer needs to have in Chapter 1?
(a) Verbal sensitivity.
(b) Empathy.
(c) Wisdom.
(d) Intelligence.

6. What is the name of the man who moves next door to his teenage daughter in Gardner's hypothetical story in Chapter 1?
(a) James.
(b) Bob.
(c) Frank.
(d) Bill.

7. What does Gardner state in Chapter 1 that we call a writer who cares more for language than the other elements of fiction?
(a) Stylized.
(b) Bad.
(c) Mannered.
(d) Tedious.

8. Which sci-fi author wrote A Canticle for Liebowitz?
(a) Kurt Vonnegut.
(b) J.D. Salinger.
(c) Jack Humphries.
(d) Walter M. Miller, Jr.

9. Of what author does Gardner say his heroes are clown-heroes knocked around by the universe?
(a) Odets.
(b) Hemingway.
(c) James.
(d) Kafka.

10. What story of Robert Penn Warren's did Raymond Carver read in Gardner's class at Chico State College?
(a) "To Have and Have Not."
(b) "Ulysses."
(c) "Blackberry Winter."
(d) "Last of the Mohicans."

11. Where did Raymond Carver move to Chico, California from?
(a) Wyoming.
(b) Washington.
(c) Arkansas.
(d) Connecticut.

12. Gardner compares Melville's Moby Dick with what in Chapter 1?
(a) Anna Karanina.
(b) Omoo.
(c) Emma.
(d) To Have and Have Not.

13. What was Gardner's first wife's name?
(a) Nora.
(b) Joan.
(c) Sarah.
(d) Emily.

14. Gardner notes in Chapter 1 that Mercutio's madness is fantastic and what?
(a) Justified.
(b) Ironic.
(c) Unbalanced.
(d) Phantasmic.

15. Who is the author of Piers Plowman?
(a) Joyce.
(b) Miller.
(c) Langland.
(d) Salinger.

Short Answer Questions

1. What author does Gardner say was known to arrive at a party and sit for ten minutes or more staring at guests and not answering when people addressed him in Chapter1?

2. Gardner writes in Chapter 1 that when the central character is a victim there is no what?

3. Gardner states in Chapter 1 that Canterbury Tales is a disguised what?

4. Where had John Gardner taught before Chico State College?

5. What is the honest answer to the question most young writer's ask of "Do I have what it takes to be a writer?" according to Gardner?

(see the answer keys)

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