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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Smith liken Trump’s speech to after coming to her senses after the first part of his speech?
(a) Snake oil.
(b) Poison.
(c) White lies.
(d) Rotten apples.

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

3. In what city does Smith live at the start of “Peonies”?
(a) Los Angeles.
(b) Chicago.
(c) Brooklyn.
(d) New York.

4. While looking on at the garden, Smith thinks of a quote by Nabokov regarding his inspiration for which novel?
(a) Glory.
(b) Lolita.
(c) Laura.
(d) Mary.

5. What does Smith say has “rarely been random” in America in her essay “The American Exception”?
(a) Untimely death.
(b) COVID-19 recoveries.
(c) Presidential nominations.
(d) COVID-19 cases.

Short Answer Questions

1. What “obsession” (6) does Smith liken to her resistance to nature as a youth, an obsessions she says many writers share?

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

3. What flowers does Smith wish she was looking at instead of peonies?

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

5. What does Smith say we had before the pandemic instead of death?

(see the answer key)

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