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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 "A Speech to the Graduates," what do the joke about the police stopping a car and the farcical benefit Sedaris promises for participating in his charity event have in common?

2. In the beginning of "Unbuttoned," what has put Lou in the hospital?

3. In "A Speech to the Graduates," what does Sedaris say causes the resiliency of people in their early twenties?

4. In "Bruised," what word does Sedaris use to describe Hugh's farmhouse?

5. In "Highfalutin," what does Amy describe cutting up while under the influence of psychedelics?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Father Time," how does Sedaris contrast his attentiveness to his father with that of his siblings?

2. In "Bruised," what anecdote does Sedaris tell about a neighbor woman he knew when he was a child?

3. In "Unbuttoned," how does Sedaris contrast his feelings about his own medical procedure with his father's behavior?

4. 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?

5. In "Bruised," how does Sedaris feel his identity is flattened by his lack of French language skills?

6. In "Themes and Variations," what kinds of people does Sedaris resist giving money to?

7. In "Highfalutin," what two things does Amy do while she and Sedaris are shopping that he finds funny but also mortifying?

8. In "Hurricane Season," how does the example of the neighbor's "shocking" outdoor shower undermine the point Sedaris has just made about renters?

9. In "Hurricane Season," how does Sedaris depict Hugh's attention to detail as a benefit of their relationship?

10. In "Highfalutin," how does Sedaris describe Amy's writing and acting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the structure of "Active Shooter" contribute to the essay's tone and meaning? Write an essay in which you consider how Sedaris manipulates the flow of time to create emphasis, to develop his argument, and to create juxtapositions with differing tones. Develop your analysis with clear reasoning and supportive detail from the essay itself.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that explores the irony of Sedaris's comments about American tourists in Paris in "To Serbia with Love." Consider his beliefs about Paris and why it bothers him that Americans fail to appreciate the city on its own terms. Think about his travels with Patsy and the ways in which he uses these as fodder to entertain Western readers. Finally, reread his brief commentary about Western privilege at the end of the essay and consider how his essay illustrates a kind of blindness that results from Western privilege. Are there non-material forms of "poverty" that can arise from living in conditions of relative material wealth? Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the essay.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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