A Visit from the Goon Squad

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does Sasha’s lying about her age in the first chapter show in relation to the theme of Time?

A) She is uncomfortable with the passage of time.

B) She feels stuck in the past.

C) She believes herself to be out of time.

D) She has anxiety around getting older.

2. In the beginning of A Visit from the Goon Squad, why might Bennie feel stuck in time?

A) He constantly loops shameful memories in his head.

B) He can’t find new bands to sign to Sow’s Ear Records.

C) He feels like his son never gets older.

D) He is unsuccessful in his career.

3. What is implied by the mirroring of scenes between Lou sharing cocaine with Jocelyn and Rhea and Bennie sharing gold flakes with Chris and Sasha?

A) That Lou is Bennie’s father

B) That Bennie has become like Lou, aging past his prime

C) That Bennie is able to make better choices than Lou did

D) That Lou ruined Bennie’s life

4. What is significant about Chronos’s name in Kenya?

A) It is Greek for “time,” playing with how Egan uses time in the novel.

B) It is Greek for “life,” showing how we all survive, just as Chronos survives his encounter with a lion.

C) It is Greek for “life,” symbolizing how this novel is a story of lives lived.

D)  It is Greek for “time,” suggesting that time can be defeated, just as Chronos is attacked by a lion.

5. Based on the different stories Egan tells about a repeating set of characters, which adjective best describes how she might view people?

A) Simple

B) Straightforward

C) Complicated

D) Boring

6. Why might Bennie tell his friends when they reunite in Lou’s hospital room that he can’t find Scotty, even though it’s clear from later chapters that they’ve been in touch?

A) Bennie wants time alone with Alice, Rhea, and Jocelyn.

B) Bennie wants to keep Scotty at a distance.

C) Bennie wants to keep secrets from Scotty.

D) Bennie wants to marry Alice now that she and Scotty are divorced.

7. Which sentence best describes the effect of learning that in different circumstances, Jocelyn and Rolph could have had a relationship?

A)  It acts as a what-if for readers, since it could have made Lou realize the error of his ways.

B) It foreshadows a future chapter that reveals they did have a relationship before Rolph passed away.

C) It reminds readers in a painful way that Lou robbed Jocelyn of her potential.

D) It creates a sense of disappointment, since readers already know what happens to both characters.

8. What argument might the novel be making when Dolly feels like she has achieved a happy life in becoming anonymous?

A) Fame comes at a cost that may not be worth paying.

B) Anyone can recover from disaster.

C) Blackmail can help you get what you want in life.

D) Successful parenting is dependent on anonymity.

9. At what point is Bennie’s career when he joins the country club?

A) Its peak

B) Its bottom

C) Its start

D) Its midpoint

10. What instance tells us that Dolly’s infamous party has become a status symbol?

A) Jules’s desire to write about it

B) Kitty’s self-inflicted wounds

C) Dolly’s attempts to become anonymous

D) The general’s hiring of Dolly

11. Which of the following best describes why Rob refers to himself as “you” when remembering being intimate with his teammate James?

A) He wants to demarcate two periods in his life.

B) He hopes to deny his attraction to men.

C) He always speaks this way.

D) He is torn between two versions of himself.

12. How does Sasha’s penchant for “found objects” evolve?

A) She leaves theft behind her.

B) She returns everything she took.

C) She turns to using the objects in sculptures.

D) She begins to take larger and larger items.

13. Why does Alison record her thoughts in slide form?

A) Schools are moving away from essays in favor of using fewer words.

B) She prefers to use her computer to express herself.

C) Sasha is encouraging her to think creatively about art.

D) She wishes to become a famous orator.

14. Which of the following most accurately describes the dual meaning of “star” in A Visit from the Goon Squad?

A) It refers to both rock stars and the way that people can excel in the world

B) It refers to both stars in the sky and the people who narrate each chapter.

C) It refers to both rock stars and imagery of the night sky throughout the novel.

D) It refers to both stars in the sky and the way people change.

15. What is symbolized by Bennie’s “hope [that Sasha] found a good life” at the end of the novel?

A) He will always love Sasha.

B) He is more comfortable with the passage of time.

C) He is thankful that Sasha stayed with him for so long.

D) He regrets not getting together with Sasha.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How does Egan use form in this novel? Choose one instance—either the book as a whole or a specific chapter—in which she does something unique with form and describe how it connects to the theme of either Time or Meaning.

2. What role does technology play in this novel? How do its various characters view technology?