View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. One meeting attendee in "Getting Serenity" says his idea is getting what?
(a) Sober.
(b) A job.
(c) Married.
(d) Serenity.

2. In "A Trip to Xanadu," what is the name of the pool at San Simeon?
(a) Neptune.
(b) Jupiter.
(c) Saturn.
(d) Venus.

3. What style of writing does Didion compare Alicia's underground piece to in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?
(a) Haiku.
(b) Sonnets.
(c) Creative non-fiction.
(d) Stream of conscious.

4. In "Pretty Nancy," Didion describes Nancy has having a smile of someone who did what?
(a) Married a politician.
(b) Grew up in comfort.
(c) Grew up poor.
(d) Said something funny.

5. Which of Joan's relatives does she show her college rejection letter to in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Her sister.
(b) Her niece.
(c) Her daughter.
(d) Her cousin.

6. In "Pretty Nancy," what does Joan say Nancy's father did for work?
(a) He was a neurosurgeon.
(b) He was a musician.
(c) He was a schoolteacher.
(d) He was a politician.

7. How does Nancy's son get home from school in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Taxi.
(b) Schoolbus.
(c) Nancy picks him up.
(d) A private car.

8. Who do the San Simeon tour guides in "A Trip to Xanadu" tell the group still stays in the 21 room guest house?
(a) Hearst's sons.
(b) Hearst's daughters.
(c) The servants.
(d) Hearst.

9. What is one of the newspapers that the author lists as one of the few that do not make her feel as though "the oxygen has been cut off from [her] brain tissue" (20)?
(a) The San Francisco Chronicle.
(b) The New York Times.
(c) The EastSide Reporter.
(d) The Wall Street Journal.

10. Didion uses and example from what underground paper at the end of her essay "Alicia and the Underground Press"?
(a) The Wall Street Journal.
(b) The Free Press.
(c) The Berkeley Barb.
(d) The East Village Voice.

11. What is the full name of the man Joan is speaking with at the start of "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?
(a) Skip Gilligan.
(b) Skip Skipperton.
(c) Skip Skivington.
(d) Skip Smitherton.

12. From where does Didion receive a rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Harvard.
(b) Berkeley.
(c) Stanford University.
(d) UCLA.

13. Where in Las Vegas is the reunion Joan attends in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"located?
(a) El Cortez.
(b) Stardust Casino.
(c) Stargazers Casino.
(d) Caesar's Palace.

14. What does Nancy say her husband never did even for the movies?
(a) Combed his hair.
(b) Wore makeup.
(c) Smiled.
(d) Wore new clothes.

15. What does Skip tell Joan about his son in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?
(a) He has been missing since Mother's Day.
(b) He moved to Canada to avoid the draft.
(c) He hasn't talked to him in years.
(d) He went AWOL.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Skip tell Joan he is not to be mistaken for despite having a beard in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?

2. In "Alicia and the Underground Press," what does Didion feel a reader can be sure of when the writer allows their bias to exist?

3. What does Didion say she did when she first read the college rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

4. What is the name of the castle Didion discusses at the start of "A Trip to Xanadu"?

5. How old is Nancy's daughter Patti in "Pretty Nancy"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 579 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample