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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. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 7, why does John say that he is in a brown study?

2. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 7, what becomes of the woman that John asked to marry him?

3. In the italicized section of Chapter 5, what is the girl writing in her notebook when the Kid wants to look at it?

4. In the italicized section of Chapter 5, what is the real reason he changed his major?

5. In the italicized section of Chapter 5, what makes the girl flush her meds down the toilet?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Kline think is happening to Bobby in regard to Bobby doing dumb things?

2. What does the IRS agent at the post office say is the reason for the IRS becoming involved in Bobby's life?

3. In Chapter 5, when Bobby meets Sheddan for lunch, at the beginning of their conversation how does Sheddan describe Bobby as an archetypal figure?

4. After recounting his time in Eastern State, why does John say that he is somewhat reluctant about Tulsa being back in his life?

5. Why does the girl go to the hospital? Is her visit to the hospital successful?

6. What does the girl say to the Kid about why she does not write down her mathematical conjectures?

7. After Bobby returns from Tucson and meets up with Kline, why does Bobby say that he cannot get on with his life?

8. Who shows up in the girl's recovery room? How do they look? What is the girl's response?

9. As a child what does Bobby find in the woods?

10. In the italicized section of Chapter 5, what does the Kid tell the girl about math and reality before she goes to bed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the sensation that you have when you read the passages between the Kid and Alicia. How do they compare to the passages that focus on Bobby? What are the differences? Are there similarities or parallels?

Essay Topic 2

Why does the author include a lengthy section of conversation about math and physics? What is your experience reading this section? Does it have a connection to the rest of the story? What do you get out of reading a conversation like that, that is difficult for a lot of people to understand?

Essay Topic 3

What is the structure of each chapter? Why does the author structure the story in the way that he does? How does this structure support the overall feel of the book?

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