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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. In Chapter Ten: X is Where I Am, who does Deborah say also rode with her and the Crying Man?

2. In Chapter Eleven: Footsteps in the House, what does Deborah say her daughters were watching?

3. In Chapter Nine: Night Wandering, where does Deborah say she would buy the ice lollies from?

4. In Chapter Nine: Night Wandering, what does Deborah say her mother taught her to do?

5. In Chapter Nine: Night Wandering, what background does Deborah say her mother had come from?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Nine: Night Wandering, what possession from her mother does Deborah say she kept? What touched her most about this?

2. In Chapter Ten: X is Where I Am, why does Deborah say she thought her sense of direction was lost? How does she say this related to her mother?

3. In Chapter Ten: X is Where I Am, how does Deborah say she felt after her mother's death? What did she ride instead of an e-bike?

4. In Chapter Seven: The Black and Bluish Darkness, what does Deborah say she needed to compose? How does she apply this as a metaphor?

5. In Chapter Seven: The Black and Bluish Darkness, what does Deborah say she had for dinner? What happened with dinner?

6. In Chapter Eleven: Footsteps in the House, who does Deborah say appeared in her house? Why does Debrah say she was wary seeing her?

7. In Chapter Eight: The Republic, who does Deborah say she met? What did Deborah advise?

8. In Chapter Eight: The Republic, where does Deborah say she saw the word "winterized"? How did she apply this to herself?

9. In Chapter Eleven: Footsteps in the House, who does Deborah say were her companions on the train? How does she say they interacted?

10. In Chapter Eight: The Republic, how does Deborah say she compared herself to Simone de Beauvoir? How are their lives similar and different?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Cost of Living is an autobiography written by a writer with a playwright background. Which parts of the book seem most theatrical and suited to the theatre to you? Choose two passages that seem most theatrical to write, how does Deborah's experience and knowledge of the theatre shape the way she writes this autobiography?

Essay Topic 2

Each of the chapters of Cost of Living has distinct titles, and each of these titles are tied together in segments of two or three themes throughout. Choose one of these segments of two or three chapters and examine how the titles are woven together, and how the titles reflect the content of the chapters. Connect what you find about the symbolism and the metaphor to the message of the book.

Essay Topic 3

Consider the names and themes of each of the chapters in the autobiography. Each one connects to a theme carried out in the chapter, as well as an overall cadence of the autobiography. How are the chapters grouped together or connected by their titles and themes, either in groups, or across numbers? How are they all connected together for a layout of narrative? Use the chapter names for an exploration of what the narrative arc of the autobiography is, and what parts are specifically connected to one another.

(see the answer keys)

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