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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. When was Virginia Woolf born?

2. At which newspaper did H.L. Mencken work?

3. Before attempting personal essays, what kind of writer was Seymour Krim?

4. Which famous author is mentioned in the essay "Once a Tramp, Always...?"

5. Which of the following is NOT a well-known story written by Robert Louis Stevenson?

Short Essay Questions

1. What subject dominated the writings of George Orwell? Name three specific things George Orwell wrote about.

2. What is Orwell's "Such, Such Were the Joys..." about? What complaints does Orwell have about the subject?

3. M.F.K. Fisher is known for writing primarily about what subject? Beyond this subject, what biographical details has she confronted in her writing?

4. What views is Henry David Thoreau well known for? How did he believe one should live one's life?

5. What level of literary output did G. K. Chesterton achieve in his lifetime?

6. What tone is Max Beerbohm famous for in his essays?

7. What is Junichiro Tanizaki's contribution to world literature? How has Tanizaki's writing style been characterized?

8. What is Jose Luis Borges' perspective on his own increasing blindness, as revealed in his essay "Blindness?"

9. What is the subject of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Crack-Up?" What extended metaphor does he use?

10. What is the subject of E.B. White's "Once More to the Lake"? What is the message White relays about the state of the lake?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Roland Barthes in "Leaving the Movie Theater" and Gayle Pemberton in "Do He Have Your Number, Mr. Jeffrey" both speak about personal experiences they have had with movies.

A) How is the movie experience different for each author? What does each author take away from their movie watching experience?

B) How might race impact the movie watching experience? Would Barthes' experience with movie watching be any different if he was confronted with actors on screen of a different race?

Essay Topic 2

Ambition is the topic of both Abraham Cowley's "Of Greatness" and Seymour Krim's "For My Brothers and Sisters in the Failure Business"?

A) Contrast the tone of each essay. What might tone reveal about the author's own state of mind?

B) What message does each author have the audience? What should the reader take away from the essay?

C) What advice might Cowley have for Krim?

Essay Topic 3

Sei Shonagon in "Hateful Things" and William Hazlitt in "On the Pleasure of Hating" both talk about the nature of hatred.

A) Is hate a healthy emotion, according to either author? Compare their views on the healthiness of hate.

B) What types of things are hated by each author? Are there more useful things than others to hate? What types of things might be too insignificant to hate?

(see the answer keys)

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