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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 the end of the essay "The Illusion of Safety," what does Gay say there will always be a finger on?

2. What is the name of the first female astronaut, as referenced in "A Tale of Three Coming Out Stories"?

3. In the essay "Not Here to Make Friends," what popular movie does Gay reference as an example of a woman pretending in a relationship?

4. In the essay "A Tale of Three Coming Out Stories," a son of a lesbian couple testifies in their defense. In what state did that couple live?

5. In "Peculiar Benefits," what two things does Gay cite as being a pain?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Gay reflects on the book by Jennifer Pozner in her essay "Garish, Glorious Spectacles," how does she say women are portrayed in reality television?

2. Why does Gay suggest that readers are not to like the character Countess Olenska, as referenced in the essay "Not Here to Make Friends"?

3. In "Typical First Year Professor," how does Gay react before teaching her first class?

4. In the essay "Girls, Girls, Girls," why does Gay fall so hard for the television show "Girlfriends"?

5. In the essay "Not Here to Make Friends," what does Gay state might be behind the likeability trends in contemporary society?

6. In the essay "The Trouble with Prince Charming, or He Who Trespassed Against Us," what does Gay suggest that the Fifty Grades series is, at its core?

7. In the essay "How We All Lose," what is Gay's main criticism of Rosin's book The End of Men?

8. At the end of the essay "Dear Young Ladies Who Love Chris Brown," what does Gay say to the ladies?

9. In the essay "Blurred Lines, Indeed," Gay has mixed feelings about female rape victims telling their stories. What does she predict will happen?

10. In the essay "Blurred Lines, Indeed," what does Gay admit to hating?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring how the author uses self implication to strengthen her themes of gender inequality, feminism, and/or reproductive freedom. How does she use her personal experiences (and sincerity) to illustrate her points?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing sarcasm and humor in the novel. Choose three different examples of humor that are used in the essay collection and explain how Gay uses them to strengthen one of her overarching themes.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay explaining how the author uses the characters of Ruth (from the novel Green Girl) and Maria (from the novel Play It as It Lays) to strengthen her argument of the juxtaposed performance that women play in novels and in society. Use the quote, "She wants to lose herself as much as she wants to find herself" to explore this idea.

(see the answer keys)

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