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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. In the essay "Not Here to Make Friends," what does Gay think about the question of likeability even existing in literary conversations?

2. In the essay "The Spectacle of Broken Men," what did many people call the man who killed the rapist?

3. In her essay "The Trouble with Prince Charming," who is the female protagonist who gets swept off her feet by the handsome Christian Grey?

4. In the essay "I Once Was Miss America," what is the name of the woman who actually wins Miss America?

5. What popular television show deals primarily with all manners of sexual assault against women, children, and occasionally men, as referenced in the essay "The Careless Language of Sexual Violence"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the essay "The Careless Language of Sexual Violence," why does Gay find the rape that occurred in Texas so appalling?

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

3. IIn the essay "Beyond the Measure of Men," what does Gay say about female writers and the aspects of publishing over which they have control?

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

5. In "To Scratch, Claw, or Grope Clumsily or Frantically," how does Gay respond when she hears all the rules to the game?

6. In the essay "The Illusion of Safety," what is the purpose of listing all the detailed visceral reactions at the beginning?

7. In the essay "Peculiar Benefits," what is the main lesson Gay learns while in Haiti?

8. In "Feel Me. See Me. Hear Me. Reach Me," what does the narrator wish that BET did more of via its television shows?

9. In the essay "What We Hunger For," why does Gay admire the Hunger Games character Katniss?

10. In the essay "The Spectacle of Broken Men," why does Gay say society lets athletes get away with criminal behavior?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay explaining the significance of the essay title "Reaching for Catharsis: Getting Fat Right (or Wrong) and Diana Spechler's "Skinny." How does the title support Gay's perception of the ways women cope with body image issues, trauma, and healing?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing positive and negative societal ramifications of traditional journalism and social media. Include examples from the text and counter arguments/claims in your analysis.

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