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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Didion say is the only woman Mapplethorpe photographed who came across as being "entirely in charge of herself" (62)?
(a) Joan Didion.
(b) Patti Smith.
(c) Yoko Ono.
(d) Grace Jones.

2. What is F. Scott Fitzgerald quoted as calling Hemingway in a letter to Maxwell Perkins in "Last Words"?
(a) The real thing.
(b) A rising talent.
(c) An okay writer.
(d) A real hack.

3. Which friend of Hemingway and his wife does Didion mention at the start of "Last Words"?
(a) Polly.
(b) Pauline.
(c) Peggy.
(d) Pam.

4. In "Telling Stories," how many places had Didion lived by the time she took English 106A?
(a) 8.
(b) 12.
(c) 25.
(d) 2.

5. Who found Hemingway after he had shot himself in 1961?
(a) His brother.
(b) His son.
(c) His agent.
(d) His wife.

6. What did Hemingway undergo in February 1961 according to Didion in "Last Words"?
(a) Psychotherapy.
(b) A heart transplant.
(c) Shock treatment.
(d) Chemotherapy.

7. In "Last Words," what is Hemingway said to have done to his letters after Ford Madox Ford told him to "write a letter thinking of how it would read to posterity"?
(a) He published his letters.
(b) He locked up all his letters.
(c) He rewrote all of his letters.
(d) He burned his letters.

8. Who wrote the script for "Hills Like White Elephants" discussed in "Long Distance Runner"?
(a) Jack Nicholson and Richardson.
(b) Didion and her husband.
(c) Didion and Richardson.
(d) Didion's husband and Tony Richardson.

9. What tennis player's behavior did Richardson say was "glorious" accordion to Didion in "Long Distance Runner"?
(a) Andre Agassi.
(b) John McEnroe.
(c) Arthur Ashe.
(d) Serena Williams.

10. In "Telling Stories," what publication does Didion work for right after college?
(a) The Washington post.
(b) Vogue.
(c) The New Yorker.
(d) Ms.

11. In "Long Distance Runner," what argument does Didion cite when discussing how Richardson liked to be contrary?
(a) That all foreign films should be made in English.
(b) That all black and white films should be colorized.
(c) That all silent films should be overdubbed.
(d) That all of his films should be burned.

12. In "Why I Write," Didion refers to writing as "the tactic of a secret" what?
(a) Introvert.
(b) Bully.
(c) Snob.
(d) Genius.

13. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say compelled her to try writing short stories again after 10 years?
(a) Her interest in portraying a window into someone's world.
(b) Her boredom with long prose.
(c) The fear she would not write another novel.
(d) A lack of ideas.

14. What wife of Hemingway's is mentioned at the start of "Last Words"?
(a) Holly.
(b) Hildy.
(c) Henrietta.
(d) Hadley.

15. What is the name of the female character in A Book of Common Prayer which Didion discusses in "Why I Write" ?
(a) Lily Davis.
(b) Emily Dickens.
(c) Charlotte Douglass.
(d) Charly Dugan.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the star of the Tony Richardson film Didion cites at the start of "Long Distance Runner"?

2. At the start of "Why I Write," Didion says that "writing is the act of saying" (42) what?

3. What does Didion say she tried very hard to do while a student at Berkeley in "Why I Write"?

4. What is something Didion felt her classmates in English 106A had that she did not in "Telling Stories"?

5. In "Telling Stories," how many stories does Didion say she completed for English 106A?

(see the answer keys)

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