View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through “The American Exception” .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Smith say a man can bend to his will?
(a) Steel pipes.
(b) Nature.
(c) Religion.
(d) Rules.

2. Which president’s speech does Smith cite at the start of “The American Exception”?
(a) Barack Obama.
(b) Joe Biden.
(c) Donald Trump.
(d) Bill Clinton.

3. Who did people “thank God for” (16) after the pandemic when, Smith says, they were not seen as worthy of a $15/ hour minimum wage prior to the pandemic?
(a) Bartenders.
(b) Doctors.
(c) Teachers.
(d) Essential Workers.

4. What “obsession” (6) does Smith liken to her resistance to nature as a youth, an obsessions she says many writers share?
(a) Chaos.
(b) Order.
(c) Control.
(d) Materialism.

5. What flowers does Smith wish she was looking at instead of peonies?
(a) Daffodils.
(b) Lupines.
(c) Roses.
(d) Tulips.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the author of the essay “Peonies”?

2. What does Smith say she believed to be the “cage of her circumstance” (3) when she was younger?

3. What song does Smith reflect on how the lyrics would change if it were written for a man?

4. At which point does Smith say a man submits to nature?

5. What image of “bored children” at home does Smith use in “The American Exception”?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 240 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample