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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. What is the stone thrower afraid of when he and his glass wife go to the opera?

2. Who is Hanna's mother?

3. Where do the narrator and her husband live in "I Am a Knife"?

4. Who is the mother of Father Michael Patrick Minty in the story "Bad Priest"?

5. Where does Hanna work?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Hanna and Laura first become friends?

2. What does Teresa tell Stephanie that surprises her at the end of the story "In the Event of My Father's Death"?

3. How does Hanna feel about her husband Peter in the short story "How"?

4. Why does the narrator's mother in the story "A Pat" tell her to befriend the saddest and most desperate people?

5. What is the narrator's husband, David, concerned about in relation to the narrator's health in the story "Bone Density"?

6. What does Father Michael realize at the end of "Bad Priest" about his mother's knowledge of his private life?

7. How did Father Michael first meet Rebekah?

8. What does the stone thrower's wife enjoy most about her days?

9. What helps to bring Natasha and Ben back together in "Break All the Way Down"?

10. What is appealing to Rebekah about her affair with Father Michael?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In several stories, including "North Country," "Break All the Way Down," and "Strange Gods," stillbirth or the sudden, tragic loss of a very young child are recurring themes. Write an essay analyzing how Gay uses the topic of grief over a child's death to develop the main characters in several of her stories, citing specific examples to the text in your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing how Father Michael Patrick Minty's character faults and flaws in the story "Bad Priest" are related to his position of power, authority and prestige in the church. What does Gay seem to be trying to say about religion and faith through her depiction of Father Minty's character?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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