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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. Whom does Nick blame on the the investigation when Heather calls him in Chapter 23?

2. What does the Captain ask Nick to do regarding Lorne Lutch in Chapter 13?

3. How does Nick characterize the money to Lorne Lutch in Chapter 18?

4. What topic does Bernie the masseuse babble on about in Chapter 17?

5. Who tells Nick that the Captain has died in Chapter 26?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Heather imply to Nick in Chapter 21?

2. What deal do Jeff Megall and Nick discuss in Chapter 17?

3. How has Sven improved the anti-underage-smoking campaign in Chapter 13?

4. What request does the Captain make of Nick in Chapter 13?

5. Describe the hotel that Nick goes to in Chapter 17.

6. What vision does Nick have at the beginning of Chapter 15?

7. What is odd about Monmaney and Allman's question is Chapter 14?

8. How is Nick's tryst in Chapter 15 with Jeannette odd?

9. How does Nick deal with the passage of Senator Finisterre's bill in this section?

10. In Chapter 20, how does Nick rebut Senator Finisterre's cigarette criticism on Nightline?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Christopher Buckley uses a convention in the novel that was popular both with Shakespeare and Dickens where he pointedly gives his character's names that obviously reflect their nature. Write an essay in which you choose three characters for whom this is the case. What essential part of each character does his or her name reflect? Does the name act as a forewarning about the character to the reader or does the name's meaning only become clear after the fact?

Essay Topic 2

Although the novel is told from a third-person point-of-view, much of the action is left in a sort of uncertain state. Write an essay about information withheld by the narrator in the novel. What is the purpose of withholding information? How does the omitting of this information place the reader very much in the same situation as Nick Naylor? Is all of this information connected to the main betrayal at the end? Sum up the essay by discussing the importance of the revelations in the final chapters.

Essay Topic 3

Buckley uses setting in Thank You for Smoking to show the different fiefdoms created by powerful industries in America. Write an essay about the three most prevalent locations in the novel. What industry does the reader associate with each setting? How does this industry permeate every aspect of this setting? What characters are most dominant in each city, and how do they affect their surroundings in a palpable way?

Part 1) Washington, DC

Part 2) Los Angeles

Part 3) Winston-Salem

(see the answer keys)

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