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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. With whom does Lovett intend to confer upon arriving in Saigon?

2. When Billy Dillon and Inez Victor visit Paul Christian, how does Paul say his brother must be celebrating?

3. With what word does Paul Christian describe the actions of the police toward him?

4. What is Jack Lovett's primary concern regarding Jessie Victor's situation?

5. From where in Honolulu does Paul Christian call the police to turn himself in?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The world of DEMOCRACY - focused on the political and the military - is contingent upon reliability. As such, people like Harry Victor, Jack Lovett, and Billy Dillon fear nothing more than a wild-card. Write an essay about the wild-cards of DEMOCRACY, figures whose unpredictable choices render the best-laid plans of these power-brokers moot. How do the following characters throw a spoke in these plans and what are the consequences?

Part 1) Janet Ziegler

Part 2) Paul Christian

Part 3) Jessie Victor

Essay Topic 3

In the novel, Inez Victor offers two viewpoints regarding America's place in the world community. These viewpoints derive from our country's collective reaction to the war in Vietnam and are represented by the characters of Harry Victor and Jack Lovett. Write an essay about these opposing viewpoints in three parts:

Part 1) What is Harry Victor's attitude toward the Vietnam War? How does he think America should impact the world community? What should we foster and what should we avoid? To what extent is his viewpoint a moral viewpoint?

Part 2) How does Jack Lovett feel about the relationships among nations? How does his career reflect this attitude? Does he appear to have unifying

worldview? Are his actions purely pragmatic?

Part 3) In what way does the relationship between Lovett and Victor represent the friction between pragmatism and idealism? Does Inez Victor represent the American people, as such?

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