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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to the curtains of Marilyn Notkin's apartment in "Giantess"?
(a) They are damaged by a squirrel.
(b) They are damaged by a giantess.
(c) The narrator sets them on fire with a heat gun.
(d) The narrator tears them down because he thinks they are ugly.

2. What does the narrator notice about all of the people hired as elves in "Santaland Diaries"?
(a) They are all short.
(b) They are all 18-25 years old.
(c) They are all unemployed actors.
(d) They are all Caucasian.

3. Why does the narrator of "After Malison" lose her excitement about Malison's reading?
(a) She is insulted that he would register under the name of a character at his hotel.
(b) She believes he is a fraud.
(c) She believes he will be too tired from visiting the college campus.
(d) She sees him with the college dean.

4. Who is the narrator of "Barrel Fever"?
(a) Gill Pullen
(b) Dolph
(c) Dolph's mother
(d) Hope

5. What frightens the narrator most about his job as an elf in "Santaland Diaries"?
(a) Working the cash register
(b) Clocking in on one of the store's computers
(c) Having a child throw up on him
(d) Wearing an elf costume

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Khe Sahn wear to Thanksgiving dinner in "Season's Greetings..."?

2. Why does the narrator's mother ask her husband to go back to their house when she is headed to the hospital with pneumonia in "Diary of A Smoker"?

3. Why is the author uncomfortable washing the blinds in the bathroom with G.L. in "The Curly Kind"?

4. What is the author's elf name in "Santaland Diaries"?

5. Which of the following is NOT an item in the narrator's duffel bag in "After Malison"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Kyle Dunbar in "Season's Greetings to Our Family and Friends".

2. What does the narrator of "Giantess" expect his fellow workers to do as they are waiting in the apartment of an extremely rich client? What do they actually do?

3. Describe Marty Jr.'s appearance in "Jamboree".

4. What does the narrator do to Marty's motorcycle in "Jamboree"? Who does Marty believe is responsible for the damages?

5. What story does Sedaris tell the little boy Riley when he throws a temper tantrum in "Santaland Diaries"?

6. Describe "the Walrus" in "Santaland Diaries".

7. What theme joins the four scenarios in "The Curly Kind"?

8. How does Jocelyn feel about her daughter's marriage to Timothy Speaks in "Season's Greetings..."? How does this compare to her feelings about her grandson, Don?

9. How does the author feel about adults who dress in costumes for their jobs in "Santaland Diaries"? How does he believe he will be different if he is hired as one of Santa's elves?

10. What does the narrator's mother give him before she dies in "Barrel Fever"? Why does she give him this gift?

(see the answer keys)

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