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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. To what film does Gay refer in her essay "Surviving Django"?

2. In the essay "When Less Is More," what does Gay say that Piper owns?

3. In the essay "The Racism We All Carry," what musical chorus does Gay mention to state her argument?

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

5. After the tragedy, what does the king of Norway say is stronger than fear, according to the essay "Tragedy. Call. Compassion. Response"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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 "When Less Is More," what phrase does Gay repeat and why does she make that decision?

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

5. What is Gay's main criticism of "Orange Is the New Black," as analyzed in her essay "When Less Is More"?

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

7. In the essay "The Racism We All Carry," what personal experience does Gay include at the end to illustrate racism's prevalence?

8. In the essay "A Tale of Two Profiles," what did the "Rolling Stone" do that appalled Gay?

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

10. In the essay "The Solace of Preparing Fried Foods," why is Gay so disgusted with the novel and film "The Help"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the author's narrative tone toward the cult of beauty and thinness, citing textual examples from her essay "Reaching for Catharsis." How does she feel about the unrealistic standards of beauty and body placed on women by society?

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

Most of the essays entail both personal experience and external evidence. Write an essay analyzing the author's choices to balance personal and societal information in the collection. How does her inclusion of both affect the narrative tone?

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