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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was Paul Christian talking to at a Victor fundraiser, whom he thought was rude for not responding?

2. At Janet's wedding, what does Carol Christian loudly lament not being able to afford for her daughter?

3. What does Jack Lovett tell Jessie they are doing to get her to an airplane?

4. How long after landing in Vietnam in Chapter 2 does Jack Lovett happen upon Jessie?

5. What food-stuff do the Christians plan to send over to the Omuras'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Joan Didion 's style of writing is perhaps most often described as cold, objective, and bloodless. It reflects her background as a journalist. Write an essay in three parts, examining how her narrative style affects the way she presents the shattering events of Democracy. How does she deny her characters a clear emotional life? How does this affect the way these violent and passionate events occur? How does it affect the reader's reaction to them?

Part 1) Jessie Victor's drug addiction.

Part 2) Paul Christian's shootings.

Part 3) Inez Victor's affair and her decision to leave her family.

Essay Topic 3

Colonialism is a major theme of Didion's novel. It is an enduring symbol of America and takes on numerous forms in the modern world. Write an essay on latter-day American colonialism, in three parts:

Part 1) Examine the history of the Christian family in Hawaii. How are they at once outsiders to island culture and also masters of every part of modern Hawaiian life? How do people like Dwight and Carol Christian feel about the islands?

Part 2) How is Janet Ziegler a representation of oblivious colonial attitudes inherent in upper-class American life? Examine the interchange she has with Frances Landau and her press interview regarding Inez as evidence.

Part 3) How does the work of Jack Lovett represent a sort of de facto colonialism inherent in the Truman Doctrine? What alternative does America offer to Communism, and how is Lovett's work in Vietnam and Cambodia endemic of that?

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