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| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
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 narrator's father refuse to see his grandson in "Jamboree"?
2. What does Sedaris notice happens to the giantess characters in the stories as they grow in "Giantess"?
3. What is the title of the magazine the narrator's sister gives him in "Giantess"?
4. According to the narrator, what type of adults most often visit Santa in "Santaland Diaries"?
5. What reason does the narrator of "After Malison" give for smoking in the hotel lobby?
Short Essay Questions
1. What are the two reasons the narrator gives for boycotting Malison's reading in "After Malison"?
2. How does the narrator of "Diary of A Smoker" feel about smoking?
3. 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?
4. What story does the narrator of "Giantess" think he and Lili should tell the man whose plate they broke?
5. Describe the narrator's elf costume in "Santaland Diaries".
6. Describe the scene in Macy's on Christmas Eve in "Santaland Diaries".
7. Describe "the Walrus" in "Santaland Diaries".
8. What do IV and PCD stand for in "Barrel Fever"? What is the significance of these acronyms for the narrator?
9. What theme joins the four scenarios in "The Curly Kind"?
10. Describe Santa Santa in "Santaland Diaries".
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Two of Sedaris' stories in "Barrel Fever" ("The Last You'll Hear From Me" and "Don's Story") are written as speeches. In your essay,
1) discuss how speeches are typically used by people,
2) discuss how Sedaris uses the genre of speech in each of these stories, and
3) analyze the statement the author is trying to make about the genre of speech.
Be sure to use evidence from the stories to support your ideas.
Essay Topic 2
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.
Essay Topic 3
One of the themes in the collection of short stories "Barrel Fever" is that of reality versus fantasy. Select three of the stories dealing with this theme and:
1) explain what the story says about reality and fantasy, and
2) demonstrate how the theme is developed in the story.
Then explain what you think Sedaris' overall commentary on reality vs. fantasy is in the novel as a whole.
Be sure to use specific examples from the stories to support your ideas.
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This section contains 1,097 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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