View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why do the couple that live in 1217 Ridgewood Road in the story "Florida" get their GEDs instead of finishing high school?

2. What does Kate's boyfriend do for a living?

3. Why does Carolina really want Savvie to come out of town to Reno with her?

4. What does a loose woman's apartment look like in the story "Difficult Women"?

5. What kind of activity do Tate and the unnamed narrator organize for other women in the story "Baby Arm"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What traumatic event did Kate experience with her long-term partner before meeting Magnus?

3. What does Sal do to Caridad in the story "Florida" that upsets and offends Caridad?

4. What does Kate's elderly landlady tell her in the story "North Country" when she meets her for the first time?

5. Why is William Livingston briefly appalled when he finds out that Sarah is mixed-race in "La Negra Blanca"?

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

7. In "Difficult Women," what does Gay say a loose woman sees in the mirror and why?

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

9. What shocking realization does the narrator come to at the end of "The Mark of Cain"?

10. Why is Alvarez hesitant to get more involved with Sarah in "La Negra Blanca," even though he adores her?

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

Throughout this book of short stories, Gay explores the lives of many different kinds of women of different races, ages, socioeconomic classes, and sexual orientations. Many of her female characters have suffered terrible traumas and abuses. Why do you think Gay titled her book Difficult Women, and how do you think she would define so-called "difficult woman" after reading all of the stories in this collection?

Essay Topic 3

Gay features twins in several of the stories in Difficult Women, including "The Mark of Cain," "How," and "I am a Knife." Write an essay comparing and contrasting the different themes Gay develops around her characters who are twins throughout different stories in the book.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 900 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample