View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The one witness interviewed at the Christian crime scene is of what connection to Janet Ziegler?

2. The U.S. ambassador to what country is on the cover of the Newsweek Didion keeps on the writing desk?

3. Which of the following political figures is featured in a framed picture in Harry Victor's office?

4. Where in Janet's house is the body of Wendell Omura found?

5. As an educator at Berkeley in 1975, what does Didion do every morning?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Didion doing in 1975?

2. How do the Victors deal with Jessie's heroin addiction?

3. What are the circumstances surrounding Harry and Inez's wedding?

4. How does Inez react to her family in this chapter?

5. How does the narrator's reading of papers in 1975 reflect her feelings about time?

6. How does Didion characterize Jack Lovett's life?

7. Describe Carol Christian.

8. How does Inez get Lovett's body to Hawaii?

9. How does Jessie Victor Make her way to Vietnam?

10. What is Joan Didion's first memory of Jack Lovett and Inez Victor together?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author pointedly argues throughout DEMOCRACY that memory is the first casualty of public life. As such, the story of the novel, told in retrospect, is kept ambiguous to the reader. Write an essay on the frailty of memory, in three parts:

Part 1) The primarily philosopher of lost memory is Inez Victor. What examples does she give when explaining to a reporter that memory is the cost of public life? What has she lost from her own life?

Part 2) To what extent is the years-long relationship between Jack Lovett and Inez Victor an exercise in forgetfulness? What do they deny about their history and feelings, and how does this lead to an explosive event in Honolulu?

Part 3) In what way is the style in which Didion tells the story of the narrative an act of forgetfulness? How does her use of hypothetical language and constant qualification regarding facts create the sense of a history forgotten?

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, Inez Victor offers two viewpoints regarding America's place in the world community. These viewpoints derive from our country's collective reaction to the war in Vietnam and are represented by the characters of Harry Victor and Jack Lovett. Write an essay about these opposing viewpoints in three parts:

Part 1) What is Harry Victor's attitude toward the Vietnam War? How does he think America should impact the world community? What should we foster and what should we avoid? To what extent is his viewpoint a moral viewpoint?

Part 2) How does Jack Lovett feel about the relationships among nations? How does his career reflect this attitude? Does he appear to have unifying

worldview? Are his actions purely pragmatic?

Part 3) In what way does the relationship between Lovett and Victor represent the friction between pragmatism and idealism? Does Inez Victor represent the American people, as such?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the Christian family. Using three members, discuss how they are outsiders to their traditional surroundings. How do they view the world of modern Hawaiian society? What are their business endeavors? To what extent are they always held remote from the rest of Hawaiian society? How does the local population view the Christian family?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,132 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample