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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the heroine in Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady?
(a) Edna Waldrop.
(b) Marie Antoinette.
(c) Isabel Archer.
(d) Emily Wharton.

2. How did F. Scott Fitzgerald die?
(a) He swallowed a bottle lid.
(b) He drowned.
(c) He had a heart attack.
(d) He was in a car accident.

3. What film does the author describe her parents taking the family to see when it opened in 1974?
(a) The Maltese Falcon.
(b) To Have and Have Not.
(c) Cassablanca.
(d) The Great Gatsby.

4. How does the author describe her father's headstone in Chapter 2?
(a) It is a Celtic cross.
(b) It is an obelisk.
(c) It is a star.
(d) It is a Catholic cross.

5. Where was Bruce Bechdel when he died?
(a) His mother's house.
(b) Route 80.
(c) Route 150.
(d) The funeral home.

6. Of her father, the author writes in Chapter 1, "... my brothers and I were free labor. Dad considered us extensions of his own body, like" what?
(a) "Gilded wings."
(b) "Enslaved legs and arms."
(c) "Precision robot arms."
(d) "Hairy fingertips."

7. How many gestures of affection does the author describe witnessing between her parents in Chapter 3?
(a) 4.
(b) 5.
(c) 2.
(d) 3.

8. What gift did the author's mother give to Joan immediately after Bruce's funeral?
(a) A necklace.
(b) A bracelet.
(c) A book.
(d) A ring.

9. What gift does the author describe having bought for herself after receiving a letter from her mother after coming out in Chapter 3?
(a) A book.
(b) A pair of earrings.
(c) A Swiss army knife.
(d) A men's suit.

10. What is the name of the author's brother who is a year younger than her?
(a) John.
(b) Peter.
(c) Christian.
(d) Paul.

11. Who is the 77-year-old poet who is referenced as a lesbian in the panel on page 74?
(a) Marie Antony.
(b) Elsa Gidlow.
(c) Christine Roth.
(d) Jennifer Roberts.

12. What does the author describe her father rinsing her with in the bathtub as a child in Chapter 1?
(a) A red bucket.
(b) A purple metal cup.
(c) A blue bucket.
(d) A white plastic cup.

13. What aromas does the author describe her father having smelled of in Chapter 1?
(a) Sawdust and sweat and designer cologne.
(b) Car grease and toothpaste and soap.
(c) Fish, eggs, and laundry.
(d) Laundry soap, wool, and attic dust.

14. Where was the author in Europe when she convinced her parents for the right to trade a tank suit for shorts at the beach?
(a) Cannes.
(b) London.
(c) Paris.
(d) Amsterdam.

15. Who is the male leading role in the play where the author's parents met?
(a) Macbeth.
(b) Mr. Darcy.
(c) Petruchio.
(d) Hamlet.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what date did the author receive a message to contact her mother immediately because her father had been killed?

2. How old was the author when her father died?

3. What novel is the play The Heiress based on?

4. How long before her father's death did Bechdel come out to her parents as gay?

5. How far away was the author in college when her father died?

(see the answer keys)

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