View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Lady Marmalade," what new role does Lou take on once all of his children have moved out?

2. In "Pearls," how does Sedaris characterize the marital problems people faced in the 1970's and 1980's?

3. In "Pearls," what does Sedaris say his mother would often call to read him over the phone?

4. In "The Vacuum," which standing appointment is Amy reluctant to move online?

5. In "A Better Place," what does Sedaris envy about the group at the table across the room?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what does Sedaris start asking all of the teenagers at his readings, and what is his reaction to the responses he gets?

2. In "The Vacuum," what kind of language does Sedaris complain about people using to describe the pandemic, and what are some examples of this language?

3. 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?

4. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what does Sedaris say about using Hugh as a test audience for his writing?

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 "Smile, Beautiful," what does Sedaris share about the conditions under which he can be generous?

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

8. What literal and figurative meanings does Sedaris convey with the title "Pearls"?

9. What sentiment does Sedaris close the essay "The Vacuum" with, and what example does he give?

10. In "Lady Marmalade," what reasons do the Sedaris siblings have for being skeptical of Tiffany's claims that Lou sexually abused her?

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

Sedaris has given several interviews offering advice about how to write humorous essays. Go online and find one of the articles where he offers such advice. Then, write an essay in which you summarize the advice he gives and apply it to one of the essays in this collection (any essay except "Smile, Beautiful"). Do all of the pieces of advice seem to apply to your chosen essay? Which ones are deployed most effectively in this essay? Why are they so effective? Consider questions like these as you explicate the humor in the essay and compare it to the advice Sedaris gives in the article you have chosen. Offer both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both the article and the essay in support of your observations, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

In "A Speech to the Graduates," Sedaris explicitly offers advice to younger people. But this is not the only place in Happy-Go-Lucky where he offers advice in one form or another. Choose one of the pieces of advice from "A Speech to the Graduates" and show how this advice is echoed in other essays in the collection. You might show how Sedaris enacts this advice in his own life, how he offers this advice to readers through editorializing, and/or how he explicitly offers this advice to other people he interacts with. As you choose which piece of advice to trace through the collection, be mindful not to interpret the advice too narrowly. For instance, in "A Speech to the Graduates," Sedaris offers advice about scented candles--but of course, what he is saying at a deeper level is to consider yourself worthy of an investment in quality items and experiences.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,250 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample