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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 comic book character do soldiers name the nuclear device that Lovett recalls being detonated?

2. To what contemporary author does the writing assignment Didion quotes in Chapter 2 refer?

3. In her happy memory, where does Inez spend a day with her children while her husband is in Saigon?

4. In Inez's list of stars, what is the tenth and last to have been?

5. What action does the narrator recall Inez Victor busying herself with on their 1975 meeting in Kuala Lumpur?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator's reading of papers in 1975 reflect her feelings about time?

2. How does Didion characterize Jack Lovett's life?

3. Why is Inez Victor confined to a room when she arrives in Hong Kong?

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

5. What precautions does Inez Victor take to preserve her privacy?

6. How does Inez react to her family in this chapter?

7. Describe Carol Christian.

8. How are Jack Lovett and Inez Victor reunited in Chapter 11?

9. Describe Harry Victor's political career.

10. What prompts Inez to reflect on her life in Chapter 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the Christian family. Using three members, discuss how they are outsiders to their traditional surroundings. How do they view the world of modern Hawaiian society? What are their business endeavors? To what extent are they always held remote from the rest of Hawaiian society? How does the local population view the Christian family?

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

Write an essay about the character of Billy Dillon. Focus on his professional aspirations and how his personal feeling are interconnected with his professional life. To what extent is his relationship with Inez Victor a mixture of professional duty and romantic infatuation? What does Inez finally do to alienate Dillon? At the end of the novel, how has Billy Dillon's life been changed by the events of 1975?

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