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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. The author compares her aesthetic to her father's in Chapter 1, saying that she was Spartan to her father's what?
(a) Egyptian.
(b) Victorian.
(c) Egalitarian.
(d) Athenian.

2. What does the author claim was her father's passion but not his job in Chapter 1?
(a) Historical restoration.
(b) Drinking Scotch.
(c) Clothing design.
(d) Cooking.

3. The title of Chapter 2: "A Happy Death," alludes to a novel written by what author?
(a) Albert Camus.
(b) James Joyce.
(c) F. Scott Fitzgerald.
(d) Ernest Hemingway.

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

5. In what role was the author's mother performing in the play when she met her husband?
(a) Katherina.
(b) Miss Malaprop.
(c) Lady Bracknell.
(d) Juliet.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many gestures of affection does the author describe witnessing between her parents in Chapter 3?

2. 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?

3. The author describes her childhood home as being built in a brief moment of wealth from the lumber industry in what year?

4. What aromas does the author describe her father having smelled of in Chapter 1?

5. What was the name of Bruce Bechdel's brother?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe her family's trip to Europe in Chapter 3?

2. How does the author describe her parents' first meeting in Chapter 3?

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

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

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

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

7. How does the author describe her father's love of gardening in Chapter 4?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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