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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. Why does a representative from Guest Relations come to Wallace's cabin?

2. Wallace believes the criticism of the "Twin Peaks" prequel as being based on the ________.

3. Wallace imagines being on a cruise ship as similar to being where?

4. What does Wallace see Joyce's criticism of Brakus as?

5. Why doesn't Wallace continue to play the little girl in chess?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do people smoke at the Canadian Open tennis tournament?

2. Why does Wallace sit alone at breakfast on the cruise ship?

3. Why does Wallace consider tennis to be the most beautiful and demanding sport?

4. Why is the stadium at Joyce's qualifying match relatively empty?

5. Why does Wallace say he is on the fence about Lynch casing Richard Pryor?

6. Does Lynch's ex-wife have any role in the film? What is her relation to "Lost Highway"?

7. How does Wallace feel about Conroy's Celebrity Cruise essay?

8. Does Wallace get seasick? Why or why not?

9. Why does Wallace explain Michael Joyce to the reader?

10. Was the brochure for the cruise ship misleading? What does Wallace observe about this?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Wallace discusses the use of irony mainly when discussing television and entertainment and criticizes it as being detrimental. Discuss Wallace's definition of irony and the detriments and benefits it has for art. What is Wallace's definition and objective with his argument? How does Wallace see irony differently?

Essay Topic 2

Wallace's essays often present an argument. Discuss how Wallace contradicts the arguments, his method of citations and antithesis and the effect this has on the final product.

Essay Topic 3

In the essay "David Lynch Keeps His Head," Wallace discusses his views on Lynch's career and artistic vision. Discuss how using David Lynch Wallace responds to his earlier, broader commentary on American media.

(see the answer keys)

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