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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 her essay "A Tale of Two Profiles," how does Gay describe Tsarnaev as looking?

2. According to the essay "Beyond the Struggle Narrative," who is the protagonist in"12 Years a Slave"?

3. In her essay "The Alienable Rights of Women," what does Gay say is both a private and public experience?

4. What is the name of the musician who dies at a tragic young age, as mentioned in the essay "Tragedy. Call. Compassion. Response"?

5. According to the essay "The Morality of Tyler Perry," what is one of his most polished films?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the essay "Beyond the Struggle Narrative," why does Gay dislike the film "12 Years a Slave"?

2. According to the essay "The Last Day of a Young Black Man," what does Gay think of the film "Fruitvale Station"?

3. In the essay "The Solace of Preparing Fried Foods," why does Gay cry when watching "The Help"?

4. In the essay "Beyond the Struggle Narrative," what types of roles is it acceptable for black women to play in hollywood films?

5. In the essay "When Less Is More," what phrase does Gay repeat and why does she make that decision?

6. In the essay "When Twitter Does What Journalism Cannot," why does Gay say we need both traditional journalism and social media?

7. In the essay "The Last Day of a Young Black Man," how is Oscar portrayed in the film?

8. In her esssay "Surviving Django," what are Gay's primary criticisms of "Django"?

9. In the essay "The Alienable Rights of Women," what does Gay mean by suggesting that women have good memories?

10. In the essay "Holding Out for a Hero," how does Gay define heroism?

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 arguing which of the essays contains the most literary merit. Describe the essay and explain what literary aspects deem the essay excellent.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay explaining how the author uses the characters Ana and Christian (from the Fifty Shades of Grey series) to illustrate her argument that fairy tales often require self sacrifice on the part of the female. Include a clear thesis statement and ample textual evidence to support your claim.

(see the answer keys)

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