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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 tropical periodical has been banned in 1969?
2. What color does Jack Lovett recall the sky being during the Pacific nuclear tests?
3. Why is Jack Lovett in Honolulu when the Christian murders occur?
4. Frances Landau is said to be the grand niece of the first Jew ever to serve on what?
5. What romantic painter does Inez publicly state she would never hang in a Zaire embassy?
Short Essay Questions
1. What eventually occupies Inez's time while she is in Washington with Harry?
2. What is happening to Jack Lovett at the end of Chapter 1?
3. Why are the nuclear detonations in the Pacific more memorable than those in Nevada to Jack Lovett?
4. What issues does Didion have gleaning information from Inez Victor?
5. What does Billy Dillon want from Frank Tawagata?
6. How does the narrator's reading of papers in 1975 reflect her feelings about time?
7. What is Joan Didion's first memory of Jack Lovett and Inez Victor together?
8. What prompts Inez to reflect on her life in Chapter 9?
9. What is Jack Lovett's stated reason for being in Honolulu in 1975?
10. Why does Billy Dillon not allow Inez to work with refugees?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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?
Essay Topic 2
After the 1972 Presidential campaign, the Victor marriage is marred by overwhelming unhappiness. Write an essay about the marriage of Harry and Inez Victor and how it is pervaded by a sense of wasted talent and opportunity. What possibilities does Inez see for her life that she is not allowed to pursue? How does Harry react to his failure to win the Democratic nomination? In what ways are both Adlai and Jessie Victor products of this deep-seeded sense of waste?
Essay Topic 3
Jack Lovett is - far beyond anyone else in the novel - an ambiguous figure whose actions and intentions are unknowable. Write an essay examining the overwhelming strengths and fatal weaknesses of Lovett's character. What is his role in prosecuting and resolving the conflict in Vietnam? How does his life represent absolute control? What mistakes does he make at the end of the novel? Is his death suspicious in any way?
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This section contains 1,034 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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