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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. Why does the boy in the elevator refuse the Cheetos in "The Curly Kind"?

2. What does the old man say to the narrator that makes her vomit in "After Malison"?

3. What is the last sight visitors see before going into Santa's house in "Santaland Diaries"?

4. Who is Timothy Speaks in "Season's Greetings..."?

5. What was Clifford's "second biggest mistake of his life" according to his wife in "Season's Greetings..."?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Dolph's confrontation with Alicia Cunningham in "Barrel Fever".

2. 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?

3. How does the narrator of "Diary of A Smoker" feel about smoking?

4. 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?

5. Describe the narrator's elf costume in "Santaland Diaries".

6. Who is Trudy Chase in "Barrel Fever"? How does the narrator react to a phone call from Trudy?

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

8. What are the two reasons the narrator gives for boycotting Malison's reading in "After Malison"?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Violence figures heavily into some of the stories in the collection. Choose two of the stories that include strong examples of violence and:

1) explain how violence is portrayed in the story,

2) describe the impact violence has in the story, and

3) explain what you think the author is trying to say about violence through this story.

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Two of Sedaris' stories in "Barrel Fever" ("Glen's Homophobia Newsletter" and "Season's Greetings to our Family and Friends") are written as letters. In your essay,

1) discuss how letters are typically used by people,

2) discuss how Sedaris uses the genre of the letter in each of these stories, and

3) analyze the statement the author is trying to make about the genre of the letter.

Be sure to use evidence from the stories to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

One of the recurrent topics in the collection of short stories "Barrel Fever" is family. Select three of the stories dealing with this topic and:

1) explain what the story says about family

2) demonstrate how the topic is developed in the story

Then explain what you think Sedaris' overall commentary on families is in the novel as a whole.

Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

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