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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. How does the author meet G.L. in "The Curly Kind"?

2. According to Jocelyn Dunbar in "Season's Greetings...", who is the most intelligent of her children"

3. What does Khe Sahn wear to Thanksgiving dinner in "Season's Greetings..."?

4. Why does Vicki drop out of high school in "Jamboree"?

5. What does Sedaris notice happens to the giantess characters in the stories as they grow in "Giantess"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What disgusts the narrator of "After Malison" the most during his master's writing seminar?

2. What does the narrator of "Giantess" expect his fellow workers to do as they are waiting in the apartment of an extremely rich client? What do they actually do?

3. What do IV and PCD stand for in "Barrel Fever"? What is the significance of these acronyms for the narrator?

4. Describe Santa Santa in "Santaland Diaries".

5. What story does the narrator of "Giantess" think he and Lili should tell the man whose plate they broke?

6. Describe the narrator's elf costume in "Santaland Diaries".

7. Who is Jamboree in "Jamboree"? How does the narrator feel about him?

8. Describe Marty Jr.'s appearance in "Jamboree".

9. How does the author feel about adults who dress in costumes for their jobs in "Santaland Diaries"? How does he believe he will be different if he is hired as one of Santa's elves?

10. What connection do the elves working at Santa Land have with "One Life to Live" in "Santaland Diaries"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Several of the stories in this collection offer a commentary on relationships. Select three of the stories in which this commentary is developed and:

1) explain what the stories say about relationships,

2) demonstrate how the author develops this commentary in the story, and

3) respond to the author's commentary: Do you agree or disagree with him? Why?

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

On the book jacket for "Barrel Fever" it is written "in David Sedaris' world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred." Select 3 of Sedaris' stories and:

1) discuss how the author's choice of subject demonstrates his irreverence, and

2) examine how the author "crosses the line" between civility and absurdity.

Be sure to use evidence from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Each of the stories in "Barrel Fever" has its own unique narrator. Select 4 of the stories and:

1) describe the narrator of each story,

2) discuss the role the narrator plays in the story, and

3) examine the ways the narrator influences how the reader experiences the story.

Be sure to use evidence from the stories to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

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