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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. When Bombeck noticed that her children's appearances were particularly disheveled one day, what was the occasion?

2. For what title would Bombeck like to have nominated Tom Suggs?

3. What did Bombeck's children claim the adults would have problems managing in "Why Can't We Have Our Own Apartment?"

4. What did Bombeck claim her husband sounded like in "If You Thought the Wedding Was Bad"?

5. How did Bombeck claim to use to help thaw out pork chops?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Lorraine Suggs?

2. What was the purpose of the article about the female architect and how did it make Bombeck feel as a result?

3. According to "Primer for Imaginative Children," what had become the typical office's stance on doctor's appointments and surgeries?

4. What did Bombeck note as being the difference between her family and sitcom families in "Why Can't Our Average Little Family Get Their Own TV Series?"

5. What were some of the basic tasks that Bombeck's family were unable to perform in "Is There Life After Mine?"

6. In "White Socks in a Pantyhose World," what did Bombeck worry about?

7. What annoyances does Bombeck describe in "If You Thought the Wedding Was Bad?"

8. According to Bombeck, what was the result of the coffee boycott in 1942?

9. With what issue did Bombeck struggle in "The Varicose Open" and why?

10. In "Who Killed Apple Pie?", what does Bombeck say started to happen to housewives and what was the result?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did Bombeck's writing blend together different genres? Discuss this question by analyzing the different genres in which she delves for her writing. Be sure to use examples from essays spanning through several years of her career while being guided by a strong thesis statement.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss aspects of Bombeck's writing techniques in the following format:

Part 1) Exaggeration.

Part 2) Subversion of cliches.

Part 3) Analogies.

Part 4) Nostalgia without the saccharine undertones.

Part 5) Honesty.

Compose a strong thesis and cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Bombeck in relationship to feminism in the following format:

Part 1) The time period in which she wrote.

Part 2) Bombeck's liberation of the stereotyped housewife.

Part 3) Her relationship to her mother and daughter.

Part 4) Fashions and trends.

Part 5) Respect.

Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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