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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 word does the speaker in the poem "September Mushrooms" imagine the mushrooms sent up before they withered?

2. Why does the speaker in the poem "Salt" say it is tempting to "look back"?

3. What is the first line of the poem "Shadow"?

4. What color is anger in the poem "Songs For Murdered Sisters"?

5. What happens to Cassandra's hometown in the poem "Cassandra Considers Declining the Gift"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the speaker in "Everyone Else's Sex Life" think about everyone else's sex life?

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

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

4. In the poem "Frida Kahlo, San Miguel, Ash Wednesday," where does Frida Kahlo live on?

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

6. What gift does Cassandra have in the poem "Cassandra Considers Declining the Gift"?

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

8. What kinds of stories did the people used to tell in the poem "The Dear Ones?"

9. How do the murdered sisters die in the poem "Songs For Murdered Sisters"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the last poem in the collection, "Blackberries," embody several of the themes and the overall tone of this entire collection? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

How does Atwood treat the topic of technology and technological advancement in the modern world throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What dual meanings and symbolism does Atwood assign to souvenirs in the poem in Part I by that title? Write an essay explaining your answers.

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