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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What skillful craftsman and artist from Greek mythology does the author compare her father to in Chapter 1?
(a) Apollo.
(b) Odysseus.
(c) Daedalus.
(d) Ares.

Short Answer Questions

1. What childhood fictional character does Joan describe as "a total imperialist" in the panel from page 80?

2. Who is the "smooth-talking fortune hunter" in The Heiress that the author describes in Chapter 3?

3. How old was F. Scott Fitzgerald when he died?

4. Over how many years does the author say her father restored their home?

5. What author had Bruce Bechdel become immersed in the year before he died?

Short Essay Questions

1. What literary allusion is tied to lilacs in Chapter 4?

2. What does the title of Chapter 2, "A Happy Death" allude to?

3. How affectionate does the author describe her family when growing up?

4. How does the author compare herself with her father in Chapter 1?

5. What symbolism does the author relate to the obelisk in Chapter 2?

6. What symbolism is related to the Swiss Army knife that appears in Chapter 3?

7. What allusions are made to the works of F. Scott Fitgerald in Chapter 3?

8. How does the author describe her impressions of her father's death in Chapter 2?

9. What does the title of Chapter 3, "That Old Catastrophe" allude to? Why is this significant?

10. What mythological allusions does the author make in Chapter 1?

(see the answer keys)

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