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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 year did Brautigan write in "Your Departure Versus the Hindenburg" in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

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

3. "December 30" in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster cites what time in the morning?

4. How old does Brautigan write while he was playing checkers in "The Chinese Checker Players" in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

5. For whom is "A Candlelion Poem" dedicated in The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is referred to in the poem "1942" from The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster?

2. Describe the subject of the poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace." What does Brautigan hope for in this poem?

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

4. What qualities are outstanding in the poems of Brautigan in terms of imagery?

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

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

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

8. What similes or metaphors are used in the poem "I've Never Had It Done So Gently Before"?

9. Where does Brautigan's humor arise in the poem "Haiku Ambulance"? How?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the poems "Discovery" and "Star-Spangled' Nails." How do the poems relate structurally? Thematically?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the imagery of "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace" from The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster. How does the imagery tie to the theme of the poem?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Brautigan's narrative voice and tense in In Watermelon Sugar. How is this similar or different than Trout Fishing in America?

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