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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. What does Faye finally request of Albert?

2. What is the name of the narrator/model's boyfriend in "A Model?"

3. For what reason does Mandra initially decide against seducing Mary?

4. What does Faye catch Albert doing one day as she comes up the stairs?

5. According to Mandra, what has Mary never experienced?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Hilda change throughout the course of this story?

2. What reasons does Fay's husband give for not making love to her on their wedding night in the story "Saffron"?

3. Describe Mary's life, from the story "Mandra"

4. For what reasons is the narrator and the mysterious man at the end of "A Model" drawn together, eventually becoming lovers?

5. How is Hilda forced to deal with her relationship to the American writer?

6. Why does the painter in "The Queen" claim to like women such as Bijou?

7. How does Rango treat Hilda after their first, failed sexual encounter?

8. Describe some of the narrator's first modeling jobs, including her experienced with the artists in "A Model."

9. How are Paul and Miriam full of "aristocratic impudence?"

10. In "A Model," why does the narrator become a model?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what ways is innocence and curiosity seen as a sexually attractive trait in some of these stories? Compose an essay on this topic and develop a clear thesis statement. Discuss the characters who have these traits, as well as the characters who become attracted to them, and the outcomes of their relationships. Certain stories that should definitely be focused on (but not exclusively) include "Little Birds" and "Runaway." Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the conflicting gender dynamics of these stories in the following format:

Part 1) Virgins and their desire to have a lover.

Part 2) The violence and pushiness of certain men (such as Rango and Pierre).

Part 3) Lina.

Part 4) The characters' abilities to take control of their own sex lives.

Part 5) Pleasure at the expense of others.

Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Why is this book called "Little Birds?" How does the title relate to the activities in the title story of this book? How does this theme relate to other characters and situations? Why is it significant that a collection of erotic stories should choose to have this connotation? In what ways does this help to subvert the idea that this book is merely pornography? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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