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

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does one of Janet Ziegler's son's not attend her funeral?

2. What reason does Jessie give Harry for not wanting to go to Janet's funeral?

3. in Johnston, what does Inez place inside Lovett's bodybag?

4. An investigation into Jack Lovett's activities is spurred by reports he has contributed to the fall of what country's government?

5. Of the following people whom Didion interviews, which is the least accessible with information?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The narrative of DEMOCRACY is largely centered around a few brief, shattering actions. Write an essay about three such actions in the story. From what do they derive, and what does their occurrence indicate about the characters of the novel? What unexpected consequences result from them? How, in the end, are they all connected?

Part 1) The Paul Christian shootings.

Part 2) Jessie Victor's stow-away trip to Saigon.

Part 3) The fall of Saigon.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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