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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. Where does a frigid woman go at night in the story "Difficult Women"?

2. Who is Carolina's husband?

3. What over-the-counter pills does Sarah take at home to help with her headaches?

4. What happens with a frigid woman's mother dies in the story "Difficult Women"?

5. What is one part of her new community that Marcy enjoys participating in?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sarah let everyone assume she is white in the story "La Negra Blanca"?

2. Why does Carolina tell Savvie she decided to marry Darryl?

3. Why does Sarah, who goes by Sierra at work, perform at a strip club?

4. What is the background of the narrator's boyfriend, Gus, bringing her plastic body parts in the story "Baby Arm"?

5. Why does the narrator in "The Mark of Cain" decide not to let on that she knows her husband switches places with his twin?

6. What do all the women in the narrator's and Tate's "fight club" seem to get out of the experience in "Baby Arm"?

7. What is the real reason that Carolina insists Savvie accompany her to find Darryl in Reno?

8. Why does the young, working-class couple watch reality television in the story "Florida"?

9. What does Marcy like about the exercise classes in the story "Florida"?

10. What event eventually brings Kate and Magnus back together?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing why the stone-thrower's wife, the unnamed glass woman, decides not to confront the stone-thrower about his ongoing affair with his mistress. Cite specific references from the story to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay exploring how Gay uses the idea of bone density in the story "Bone Density" both literally and figuratively to highlight the divisions and discord between the narrator and her husband, citing specific references to the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

In the story "Florida," Gay uses a variety of different characters' voices and points of view to offer vastly different perspectives on the same community. Write an essay analyzing how Gay's use of different perspectives and characters' voices affects the narrative and the reader's experience of this story.

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