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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. In "A Better Place," what does Sedaris say is the subject of our greatest art?

2. In "The Vacuum," what does Sedaris's agent say will put sex workers out of business?

3. In "Fresh-Caught Haddock," why is wearing a mask at the protest a relief to Sedaris?

4. On page 247 of "Lucky-Go-Happy," what space does Sedaris say he thinks of as his "office"?

5. In "Lady Marmalade," what did Lou suggest Sedaris's childhood stomach pains were caused by?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what does Sedaris say about using Hugh as a test audience for his writing?

2. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what do the changes in Lou suggest to Sedaris might be true in his own life?

3. In "Pearls," what does Sedaris theorize are the two main causes of relationship failures?

4. In "Pussytoes," what is Sedaris's reaction to his father's "Little Black Book"?

5. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what rhetorical purpose unites Sedaris's choice to talk about varying face mask usage, fireworks stores, and gun sightings?

6. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what two examples does Sedaris give of his father's tendency to exaggerate?

7. In "Pussytoes," what disagreement do the siblings have about the photo of Lou to use with his obituary?

8. What is the rhetorical function of opening "The Vacuum" with the description of the supermarket near Sedaris's apartment?

9. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what does Sedaris start asking all of the teenagers at his readings, and what is his reaction to the responses he gets?

10. In "A Better Place," what is Sedaris's response to the idea that his father "did his best" (193)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After reading "Highfaluntin," you considered how Sedaris attempts to dispute his sister Tiffany's charge that he and Amy are pretentious. Certainly, Sedaris lives a life of privilege. But is this the same as being pretentious? Consider the collection as a whole as you develop a claim about how Sedaris's narrative voice and the details he chooses to include in his essays argue for or against him being characterized as pretentious or snobbish. As you examine this idea, consider whether privilege automatically makes a person a snob, or whether some additional element is necessary to justify this characterization. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the text.

Essay Topic 2

In "Lady Marmalade," Sedaris airs evidence for and against his sister Tiffany's claims of sexual abuse. Do you think that an essay intended for public viewing is an appropriate venue for these musings, when neither Lou nor Tiffany is alive to have their voices heard? If Sedaris wanted to focus on his own struggle to come to terms with his sister's accusations, what other detail and language choices might he have made? Would this have been a more appropriate choice, or is the entire topic not really Sedaris's story to share? Write an essay that considers what Sedaris's detail and language choices are meant to convey, what might have been conveyed through different choices, and whether the choices he has made are ethically appropriate.

Essay Topic 3

"Lucky-Go-Happy" shares a somewhat pessimistic view of America in 2021. Based on the totality of this collection, would you call Sedaris a pessimist in general, or is his pessimism limited to this particular subject? How does he seem to view relationships, his own personal growth, getting older, and the other topics that he covers in Happy-Go-Lucky? What kinds of subject matter has he chosen to focus on in these essays? How does his language convey either a generally pessimistic, optimistic, or neutral outlook? Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the following statement: "In Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris displays a generally pessimistic outlook on life." Support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the text.

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