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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. Which poem from The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster ends with the line, "Without you, I am dead"?
(a) "Adrenalin Mother."
(b) "Alibone Dinner."
(c) "Artichoke Mother."
(d) "Sonnett."

2. Ketchikan is a small town in what state?
(a) Alaska.
(b) Washington.
(c) California.
(d) Oregon.

3. Brautigan writes in "Discovery" of The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster, "The petals of the vagina unfold like _________ taking off his shoes."
(a) Kafka.
(b) Pablo Picasso.
(c) Marcus Arelius.
(d) Christopher Columbus.

4. What does Brautigan say he saw crucified on a barbed-wire fence in "The Double-Bed Dream Gallows" from The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?
(a) A frog.
(b) A hawk.
(c) An eagle.
(d) A chicken.

5. What is the first item in "Karma Repair Kit: Items 1-4" of The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?
(a) Reduce intellectual and emotional noise until you arrive at the silence of yourself, and listen to it.
(b) Find a place to sleep where it is quiet, and sleep there.
(c) Find God.
(d) Get enough food to eat, and eat it.

Short Answer Questions

1. The poem, "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace" from The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster, talks of deer walking past what?

2. What does one of the players have in "Poker Star" from The Pill Versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

3. Where does Brautigan write of going to bed in "The Beautiful Poem" of The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

4. What does Brautigan harbor himself towards in "Hey, Bacon!" in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

5. Where do the old people sit in "A Postcard from Chinatown" in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the emotional state of Brautigan in the poem "Boo, Forever"?

2. What similes and metaphors are used in the poem "Sonnet" from The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster?

3. Describe the simplicity of the poem "November 3." What is Brautigan's subject in this poem?

4. In which poem does Brautigan refer to the Hindenberg Disaster? How?

5. What is the poem "Star-Spangled' Nails" about?

6. What imagery is used in the poem, "The Winos on Potrero Hill"?

7. What imagery does Brautigan produce in the poem "December 30"?

8. Discuss the tone of the poem "The Return of the Rivers." What does Brautigan describe here?

9. In what poem from The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster does Brautigan cite "Casablanca"? How?

10. Describe Brautigan's use of nonsensical, surreal imagery in the poem "Yes, the Fish Music." What is the purpose of the imagery?

(see the answer keys)

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