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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. Tolentino states in "Always Be Optimizing" that perhaps we need to learn from which figure?

2. How many boys were a part of the reality television show series' cast?

3. On what island was the reality show featured in "Reality TV Me" filmed?

4. In which sport did Tolentino participate during her childhood?

5. What is NOT a word Tolentino uses to describe particular elements of the internet that soured after a turning point she names?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way is "the rise of barre" (74) unprecedented, according to Tolentino in the essay "Always Be Optimizing"?

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

3. What symbolism does Tolentino highlight within an Instagram profile in the essay "Always Be Optimizing"?

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

5. What is Tolentino's ultimate conclusion about the future of the internet and why?

6. What is the symbolism of the exclamation points Tolentino uses within the essay entitled "The I in Internet"?

7. Discuss an instance in the introduction when Tolentino uses a metaphor to illustrate a particular point.

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

9. What is the main setting featured within the essay entitled "Reality TV Me"?

10. 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)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is Tolentino's message about the relationship between privilege and delusion within the collection of essays entitled Trick Mirror?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the effects of stress on the collection's discussed people and the coping methods each main subject uses to deal with emotional turmoil. Which people’s methods are effective, which are ineffective, and how do these varying levels of efficiency affect the messages sent within Tolentino’s book Trick Mirror?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Trick Mirror from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

(see the answer keys)

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