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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. Where was Inez Victor born?

2. According to Inez, what is the major casualty of public life?

3. What is Frances Landau wearing during the Victor trip to Jakarta?

4. What is the name of the girl who is seriously injured in a car accident with Adlai?

5. In what location are men like Jack Lovett always comfortable, according to Didion?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Billy Dillon get Frank Tawagata on his side?

2. Describe the famous WNBC footage of Inez Victor.

3. How does Jessie Victor Make her way to Vietnam?

4. What information about Paul Christian's crime does Didion reveal in Chapter 3?

5. Describe Janet Christian's interview in Chapter 10.

6. Why does Inez listen to the radio all night at end of the chapter?

7. In what respect is DEMOCRACY a second attempt by Joan Didion?

8. How do the Victors deal with Jessie's heroin addiction?

9. What is Paul Christian's attitude regarding the shooting?

10. Why is the helicopter engineer returning to Vietnam?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jack Lovett's reasoning is most often tied to a given military-political objective he has been given. Didion states that his greatest gift is the ability to view situations with a dispassionate eye. The only case in which this is not true, in which he skirts his duty, is regarding Inez Victor. In an essay, examine Lovett's relationship with Inez. How does his affection manifest itself prior to the Christian shootings? What role do these shootings serve in allowing him to make his move? What good deeds does he render to her, and how does his career allow him to do so?

Essay Topic 2

The author pointedly argues throughout DEMOCRACY that memory is the first casualty of public life. As such, the story of the novel, told in retrospect, is kept ambiguous to the reader. Write an essay on the frailty of memory, in three parts:

Part 1) The primarily philosopher of lost memory is Inez Victor. What examples does she give when explaining to a reporter that memory is the cost of public life? What has she lost from her own life?

Part 2) To what extent is the years-long relationship between Jack Lovett and Inez Victor an exercise in forgetfulness? What do they deny about their history and feelings, and how does this lead to an explosive event in Honolulu?

Part 3) In what way is the style in which Didion tells the story of the narrative an act of forgetfulness? How does her use of hypothetical language and constant qualification regarding facts create the sense of a history forgotten?

Essay Topic 3

In DEMOCRACY, calculated deception is necessary to the survival of political families. As such, Didion pointedly juxtaposes the reality of her characters' lives and the image they attempt to project to public. Write an essay, examining this juxtaposition in three parts:

Part 1) How is the Christian family viewed as a liability in the '72 presidential run of Harry Victor? How does the neo-colonial attitude of the Christians undermine the image that Victor is trying to cultivate?

Part 2) How does Billy Dillon's reaction to the Paul Christian shootings reflect a sense of desperate deception? In what ways does he attempt to spin the story to make Paul Christian seem like a victim after her murders his own daughter? What does this indicate about Billy Dillon's compassion?

Part 3) In what respect is Inez's abandonment of the Christian family with Jack Lovett represent the shattering of the PR illusion created by Billy Dillon? How does he react to this final betrayal?

(see the answer keys)

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