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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. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what is Sedaris relieved that his father does not remember accurately?
(a) The real circumstances under which he got the guitar.
(b) How much of their family's laughter was directed at him.
(c) The negative things Sedaris has written about him.
(d) Their mother's illness and death.

2. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what does Sedaris see on the floor at Charlotte Douglas International Airport?
(a) Cigarette butts.
(b) Dog excrement.
(c) A discarded condom.
(d) A pair of boxer shorts.

3. In "Lady Marmalade," what incident causes Lou's attitude toward Gretchen to change?
(a) He finds marijuana in her bedroom.
(b) She moves out when she is only seventeen.
(c) He discovers her having sex with her boyfriend.
(d) She accuses him of inappropriate behavior.

4. In "The Vacuum," what does Sedaris's agent say will put sex workers out of business?
(a) Climate change.
(b) Internet pornography.
(c) The pandemic.
(d) Sex robots.

5. In "Lady Marmalade," what did Lou suggest Sedaris's childhood stomach pains were caused by?
(a) Hemorrhoids.
(b) A desire to get out of school.
(c) A desire for attention.
(d) Their mother's cooking.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," how does Sedaris characterize continuing media coverage of the Covid pandemic?

2. In "Smile, Beautiful," what point is Sedaris trying to convey with the example of the woman whose face was injured by an animal bite?

3. In "Fresh-Caught Haddock," what is Amy's implied motivation for wanting to take a trip to Emerald Isle?

4. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what is Sedaris stunned to hear Lou admit to being wrong about?

5. In "A Better Place," what is Sedaris's response to the idea that his father will always be with him?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Pearls," what does Sedaris theorize are the two main causes of relationship failures?

2. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," why does Sedaris think that his father is losing his hearing?

3. When describing protests in "Fresh-Caught Haddock," what two examples of White participants' vandalism does Sedaris give, and how do Black bystanders react?

4. What is the rhetorical function of opening "The Vacuum" with the description of the supermarket near Sedaris's apartment?

5. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what is the rhetorical function of Sedaris's comment that his father used to watch at lot of Fox News?

6. In "Fresh-Caught Haddock," what examples of his own unconscious racism does Sedaris give?

7. In "Pussytoes," what disagreement do the siblings have about the photo of Lou to use with his obituary?

8. In "Pussytoes," what is Sedaris's reaction to his father's "Little Black Book"?

9. In "Pussytoes," what perspective shift does Sedaris use as he describes sitting at Lou's bedside, and what impact does this have on the reader?

10. In "Happy-Go-Lucky," what two examples does Sedaris give of his father's tendency to exaggerate?

(see the answer keys)

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