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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 does the reader learn about Bill Bob in "Anamnesis" that wasn't known before?

2. What did Bill Bob spread all over him that Gus had given him in exchange for a check?

3. What poet does Titus quote?

4. What is Henning's issue with his son being called Bill Bob?

5. How does Alfred die?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Ma and Henning attempt to make the cabin livable for Gus?

2. Why does Gus feel sorry for Sigrid the minnow he puts in his tank? What is he learning about himself through his feelings for her?

3. What are Ma's and Henning's philosophies of death?

4. What does Gus see as the crux of Izaak Walton's book and how does he feel about the message?

5. What is a dreefee and how does it affect the Orviston household?

6. Is the argument in "Voiding My Rheum" healing or destructive? Defend your answer.

7. How does Gus plan his life to maximize his fishing time?

8. How does Gus react during the argument at dinner when he realizes that his parents only care about their own argument and not the story he is telling?

9. What happens to Gus emotionally in the first few months alone in the cabin?

10. Gus does not believe in the vandalism that teenagers cause. What does he do instead?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does Hemingway play in Gus's life? What does he add to the journey that Gus is on?

Essay Topic 2

Explain Henning's view of the world. Where do his understandings come from? How is his background different from Ma's? How does his view of the world affect his children?

Essay Topic 3

In the early chapters of the novel, Duncan gives strong indicators of how Gus sees the way his parents feel about their children. What are Gus's deepest thoughts? How does he express them? How do they affect Gus?

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