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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 medication is Louise given when she finally goes to the doctor?

2. What is Flannery's response when people get the titles of her books wrong?

3. What has Flannery's illness forced her to do?

4. What Georgia weather does Flannery report on the last day of 1963?

5. At this point in the book, it is clear ____________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Flannery integrate formal and regional writing in her letters?

2. What is unusual about Flannery's friend, Louise's, visit to a doctor for the flu?

3. What is Sally Fitzgerald's perspective on how Flannery dealt with her illness?

4. How does Flannery show that her characters become very real for her?

5. How does Flannery describe her writing process?

6. How is Flannery's health as the year 1963 comes to a close?

7. What is known about Flannery's romantic or personal life as revealed through her letters?

8. How does Flannery say she reacted when seeing the scope of the changes on her manuscript?

9. What pattern begins to emerge in the letters regarding the addressees?

10. What is the nature of the book on which Flannery plans to focus this year?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

From what you can glean from Flannery's letters, create a brief character study of Flannery's mother. What does she look like? What are her positive personality traits? What are some of her negative characteristics? What are her hopes and fears? What motivates her in her daily life? What hopes does she have for her daughter?

Essay Topic 2

Flannery is very forthcoming about being an unmarried woman long past the time that most women have settled comfortably in marriages. Do you think Flannery longed for a personal commitment? Or was writing her only true love? What about Flannery's geographical location and personal health inhibited any chances for grand romance in her life? Was this something Flannery could live without or did she simply resign herself to that fact? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the importance of the Introduction and Editorial Note in the book. What important parameters does it establish? What ideas does it introduce? Why did the editor feel it necessary to include this information? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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