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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. Where does "Polepole" take place?

2. In "Occupied," Ivy sees a "doppelgänger." What does she see?

3. In "Polepole," what does "the man" do when the boy spits at him?

4. In "Green Glass," what is the name of the groom at the wedding?

5. In "Polepole," what reason does Daisy give for being in Africa?

Short Essay Questions

1. On page 55 of "Green Glass," what does Fran mean when she says, "Men like to think women aren't sensitive, at convenient times"?

2. In "Green Glass," what causes Tom's ex to slap him, and what is his response to the incident?

3. In "The Torch," what does the woman remember about being with John?

4. In "Polepole," what is Daisy's response to finding out that "the man" has a wife?

5. On page 36 of "Occupied," what is meant by the assertion that "In her brain there was always a someone"?

6. In "Occupied," where does Ivy stop on the way home from work, and why does she stop there?

7. In "Occupied," what is implied by the repeated descriptions of the wind?

8. In "Polepole," after the man tells Daisy that he "needs" to kiss her, she "felt the outline of herself begin to dissolve" (5). Why does the man have this effect on Daisy?

9. In "Occupied," how does Ivy feel about her friends' advice about Dexter?

10. In "Polepole," how do Daisy and "the man" react differently to his hitting the child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you consider the symbolic significance of the title "Occupied." Discuss both the characteristics of this movement as revealed in the story and the relationship of that movement to Ivy's life and psychology. Use evidence from the text to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Many of the stories in Why I Don't Write are concerned with time: the past intrudes on the present, time expands and contracts around the characters. Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the role of time in Minot's collection. Use evidence from at least three stories to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the significance of the setting in "Polepole." Use textual evidence to support your ideas; if you use outside sources, be sure to cite them in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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