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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. Which individual winner of The Biggest Loser does Gay discuss at length?

2. What is one specific diet Gay mentions that her father gifts her to try?

3. What word does Gay object to that is commonly used to refer to the national spike in obesity?

4. What kind of cooking does Gay most enjoy?

5. Who was the first man Gay was in a relationship with during her PhD years?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Gay feel about exercise?

2. What is the reason Gay gives for becoming a vegetarian?

3. How does Gay characterize her relationship with Jon?

4. Why does Gay say she still watches reality television weight-loss shows even though she hates them?

5. Why does Gay do extensive research on restaurants before she goes out to eat?

6. Why does Gay eventually call her parents and go back home?

7. What did Gay say to the young, overweight woman in the dressing room whose mother was mistreating her and why was it important?

8. What significance did letting her best friend paint her thumbnail have for Gay?

9. As Gay is finishing her MA program in creative writing, what are most of the fictional stories she writes about?

10. What medical reason does Gay say is responsible for contestants on shows like The Biggest Loser gaining most of their weight back?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gay does not tell her family about her brutal rape at the age of 12 for many years, and even when she does reveal the truth, she can not discuss it directly with them. Write an essay detailing why Gay found it so difficult to tell her family about her trauma, citing specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Gay repeatedly uses the word “or” to link two disparate ideas. “I do not know why I turned to food. Or I do” (53). “I hate myself. Or society tells me I am supposed to hate myself” (148). Write an essay exploring Gay’s use of this construction and its effect on her arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Gay writes about the interplay between obesity and gender, declaring “My fat body empowers people to erase my gender” (256). Write an essay analyzing what she means by this, using specific example from her experiences.

(see the answer keys)

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