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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. At ten, Tolentino admonished her younger self for looking at which kinds of sites during her first sessions online?

2. What does Tolentino name as the most problematic trait of the internet?

3. How many dollars did Tolentino's father offer to give her if she tried out for the reality show?

4. The cast member named Cory came from a small town in which state?

5. Tolentino notes that the third problematic trait of the internet is that it distends what types of feelings?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what work is the title of "Always Be Optimizing" referring and what is the significance of the allusion within the essay?

2. What is the significance of Jess's comments about Cory's homosexuality in the essay "Reality TV Me"?

3. How does Tolentino characterize her adolescent self and for what purpose?

4. What is the source of the essay collection's title, Trick Mirror, according to Tolentino?

5. Who is Jess, the person featured in the essay entitled "Reality TV Me"?

6. In what way does Tolentino present the theme of hypocrisy within the essay entitled "Reality TV Me"?

7. What end product does Tolentino name as the consistent result of trying to become better at being a woman or "of learning to get better at life under accelerated capitalism" (65)?

8. What element does Tolentino characterize as "capitalism's last natural resource" (11) in the essay entitled "The I in Internet"?

9. How does Tolentino contrast her real feelings about taking part in Girls vs. Boys: Puerto Rico with the impression she gave her family?

10. How does Tolentino describe the connection between each essay's topic and her own life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Tolentino’s collection Trick Mirror. What message is Tolentino sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay examining how the text portrays the American Dream. Is there one American Dream or are there many different ones, according to Tolentino? What is the text saying about the American dream in the twenty-first century?

Essay Topic 3

What message does Tolentino send within the pages of Trick Mirror concerning the link between privilege and delusion?

(see the answer keys)

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