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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. On another occasion, how does J.P. physically injure his wife?

2. What word does the narrator constantly use to describe his girlfriend's teenager?

3. Who advises J.P.'s wife to leave him?

4. What is J.P.'s wife's name?

5. Where is Tiny hoping to be on New Year's Eve?

Short Essay Questions

1. Give an example of hopefulness in the story.

2. Discuss how J.P.'s experience as a child in the well mirrors his experience as an adult alcoholic.

3. Give an example of a character in the story thinking fatalistically.

4. What is the significance of the story of "the guy who travels"?

5. In the section about the landlord, what does the narrator's nakedness represent?

6. Choose a character and explain why he or she is sympathetic.

7. Give one example of a character in the story being self-deprecating.

8. What does Roxy's name suggest?

9. Why does the narrator want to ask Tiny more about his seizure?

10. What is the significance of mentioning the razor nicks on J.P.'s and other residents' faces?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author never gives an explanation for why any of the characters drink. How does the story cultivate an understanding of alcoholism? Is it a weakness, a disease, or a combination of things?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the different ways in which physical vulnerability figures into the story and why.

Essay Topic 3

How do compassion and forgiveness figure into the story?

(see the answer keys)

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