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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. Nabokov said the inspiration for his novel came from an article about an ape that drew what?

2. Though the “bubble” of privilege can be penetrated, what bubble does Smith say cannot be penetrated?

3. Which actor is in the director’s chair talking to Jesus in the meme someone sent Smith at the start of the pandemic?

4. What example does Smith use in “Peonies” as a time when submitting might be better than resisting?

5. What does Trump say we did not have prior to the pandemic, which Smith agrees?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whose speech does “The American Exception” begin with and what it is in regards to?

2. Describe the article Smith references in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson” about a 17-year-old during lockdown.

3. Describe the meme Smith references in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson.”

4. What are some of the various types of loneliness Smith describes people felt at the start of the lockdown in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson”?

5. What does Smith say the country had begun to learn or discuss in regards to privilege prior to the virus?

6. In what way does Smith agree with Trump’s sentiment that prior to the pandemic “we had no death” (12)?

7. Why does Smith say it was hard for Americans to fathom a plague?

8. What does Smith say was missing from the American concept of death in “The American Exception”?

9. How do “defenders of art typically justify its existence” (21) according to Smith?

10. What is one of the societal issues Smith says the pandemic lockdown has forced many people to face?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Cy’s character in “A Hovering Young Man.” What does he represent and how does the pandemic affect Cy? What is Smith’s tone in regards to the effect the pandemic has on people like Cy?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the way in which Smith and her mother try to create some kind of normalcy during the pandemic lockdown in “An Elder at the 98 Bus Stop.” How do they interact? What do they discuss? How is this attempt at normalcy possible or impossible?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the theme of survival in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule.” Analyze the difference between how Smith deals with the pandemic versus the man with the wheelchair.

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