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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. What is the woman working with in the poem "A Genre Painting"?

2. What does the neon sign in "Everyone Else's Sex Life" say?

3. What lies in the ditch in the poem "Princess Clothing"?

4. Who used to take the dear ones in the poem "The Dear Ones"?

5. What is one of the problems with the body in the poem "Shadow"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the Tin Woodwoman gets a massage in the poem by the same name?

2. How does the speaker in the poem "Passports" feel about aging?

3. What are some contradictions about cicadas in the poem by the same title?

4. Why does the speaker implore people to keep their clothes on in the poem "Everyone Else's Sex Life"?

5. What kind of people were the Scythians in the poem "Digging Up the Scythians"?

6. In the poem "Salt," what does Atwood warn will happen if one spends too much time in the past?

7. What would be the advantage to slugs reproducing by bud or spore, according to Atwood in "Double-Entry Slug Sex"?

8. What are the images in tension with each other in the poem titled "A Genre Painting"?

9. In the poem "Aflame," what is happening to the world?

10. What is the problem with souvenirs, according to the speaker in the poem by the same name?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Atwood use animals and insects to convey messages to the readers not only about the natural world, but about human nature, throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the theme of the poem "Dearly" and write an essay exploring why Atwood chose its title for the name of this collection.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the different meanings and feelings Atwood assigns to different textiles in the poem Princess Clothing.

(see the answer keys)

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