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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 "Blurred Lines, Indeed," what is the name of the musician who sings about giving a good girl what she really wants?

2. In the essay "Reaching for Catharsis," what kind of camp does Gay attend as a teenager?

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

4. According to the essay "The Trouble with Prince Charming," what did the characters in the Fifty Shades of Grey series need to sign prior to starting a relationship?

5. Approximately how old is the narrator in "Typical First Year Professor"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the essay "I Once Was Miss America," how does Gay react to Vanessa Williams being crowned Miss America?

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

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

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

5. In the essay "Dear Young Ladies Who Love Chris Brown," what does Gay predict will happen to his behavior?

6. In the essay "Garish, Glorious Spectacles," what does the novel Green Girl suggest that all women have within them?

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

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

9. In "To Scratch, Claw, or Grope Clumsily or Frantically," how does Gay beat her nemesis the first time?

10. In the essay "The Trouble with Prince Charming," how are readers supposed to respond to Ana's character in the Fifty Grades series?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay explaining the significance of the title of the book. How does the title support Gay's theme of gender inequality and overall narrative tone?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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