View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do most of the customers in "Firestone" react to the narrator's attempts to convert them to his religion?

2. Why is "The Last You'll Hear From Me" titled thus?

3. How often is "Glen's Homophobia Newsletter" published?

4. The phrases "'I hope it doesn't tire him out'" and "'the original boob tube'" in "Firestone" are examples of...

5. Where does Glen park while shopping at Food Carnival in "Glen's Homophobia Newsletter"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Music for Lovers", why does the narrator often give his daughter stitches? What does he recommend when giving someone stitches?

2. Describe the scene at Barbra Streisand's house in "Don's Story".

3. Describe a typical first date for the "old" version of the narrator of "Parade".

4. Describe The Sportsman in "We Get Along".

5. What does Glen dream about in "Glen's Homophobia Newsletter"? What does he tell Drew he dreamed about? Why?

6. Describe the instances of "homophobia" that Glen believes he experiences after speaking with Drew on the phone in "Glen's Homophobia Newsletter".

7. What prompts Mr. Holt to send Chad to Mr. Chatam for guitar lessons in "My Manuscript"?

8. Describe Margery in "We Get Along".

9. How is Don's success in "Don's Story" ironic?

10. What is the genre of "Don's Story"? How is it a "spoof" on an actual piece in this genre?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many of the stories in "Barrel Fever", Sedaris satirizes popular culture. Select 2 of the stories in which the author uses satire and:

1) describe the ways in which satire is used in the stories,

2) compare and contrast the use of satire in each story, and

3) discuss the impact of satire on the reader's experience of the stories.

Be sure to use evidence from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

The titles of many of the stories in "Barrel Fever" have an ironic twist to them. Select three of the following stories and discuss how the title of each story reflects an irony presented in the story.

1) "Parade"

2) "Music for Lovers"

3) "We Get Along"

4) "Firestone"

5) "After Malison"

6) "Barrel Fever"

Be sure to use evidence from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Two of Sedaris' stories in "Barrel Fever" ("The Last You'll Hear From Me" and "Don's Story") are written as speeches. In your essay,

1) discuss how speeches are typically used by people,

2) discuss how Sedaris uses the genre of speech in each of these stories, and

3) analyze the statement the author is trying to make about the genre of speech.

Be sure to use evidence from the stories to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,088 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample