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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. In "Bruised," what concern does Sedaris raise with Hugh about Olivier's aggressive behavior?
2. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what reason does Sedaris offer for why the graduates should follow his advice?
3. What is ironic about Lisa turning out to be the better shooter?
4. How is the term "highfalutin" introduced into the essay "Highfalutin"?
5. In "Themes and Variations," how does Sedaris meet Mary?
Short Essay Questions
1. In "Hurricane Season," what type of art does Hugh hang in the rental house, and how does Sedaris characterize a recent tenant's reaction to this art?
2. In "Bruised," what anecdote does Sedaris tell about a neighbor woman he knew when he was a child?
3. Describe the condition of Lou's house when the Sedaris siblings go to start clearing it out In "Unbuttoned."
4. In "Unbuttoned," how does Sedaris contrast his feelings about his own medical procedure with his father's behavior?
5. In "Active Shooter," what contrast does Sedaris see between the drills he recalls in his own elementary school and the ones being practiced today?
6. In "Highfalutin," how does Sedaris say his adult experience in front of cameras reflects his role in the childhood game he played with Amy?
7. In "Active Shooter," how is Lisa's concern about what she saw at Starbucks used as the basis for a joke later in the essay?
8. In "Themes and Variations," what does Sedaris discover about women, and how does he discover it?
9. In "Bruised," what "secret" does Sedaris believe Olivier has discovered, and why does he guess that Olivier is struggling to accept his new knowledge?
10. In "Themes and Variations," what experience does Sedaris say shaped his desire to interact warmly with his fans?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The ideas expressed in "Bruises" are motifs that run throughout much of the collection Happy-Go-Lucky. Choose three to five essays from the collection and show how they support the idea that bruising experiences can limit a person's full expression of themselves. This idea does not have to be the main point an essay is making in order for you to include the essay in your discussion, but it should be clearly presented enough that you can draw more than one example or quote from each essay you choose.
Essay Topic 2
You have already analyzed how comic detail functions in "Pearls." Now, apply a similar analysis to another one of the essays in Happy-Go-Lucky. Consider how the essay functions without these details. Think about whether the comic details in your chosen essay have similar or dissimilar tones and how their tone(s) might impact readers. Write an essay that explicates how humor functions in this essay: is it intended to entertain, persuade, inform, or to fulfill some combination of these purposes? How does it accomplish Sedaris's purposes, exactly? Support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the essay.
Essay Topic 3
"Lucky-Go-Happy" shares a somewhat pessimistic view of America in 2021. Based on the totality of this collection, would you call Sedaris a pessimist in general, or is his pessimism limited to this particular subject? How does he seem to view relationships, his own personal growth, getting older, and the other topics that he covers in Happy-Go-Lucky? What kinds of subject matter has he chosen to focus on in these essays? How does his language convey either a generally pessimistic, optimistic, or neutral outlook? Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the following statement: "In Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris displays a generally pessimistic outlook on life." Support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the text.
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This section contains 1,364 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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