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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 "Lucky-Go-Happy," what does Sedaris see on the floor at Charlotte Douglas International Airport?

2. In "Pussytoes," where do the siblings stay together on the night before Lou's funeral?

3. In "Smile, Beautiful," what does a woman at a book signing tell Sedaris that brings him close to tears?

4. In "Pearls," what was the subject of the Ladies' Home Journal column that Sedaris liked?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Smile, Beautiful," how do Hugh and Amy react after Sedaris reveals his newly corrected teeth?

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

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

4. In "The Vacuum," what activities does Sedaris describe filling his days with while he is waiting until he can go out and walk at night?

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

6. In "Fresh-Caught Haddock," what does a Jewish acquaintance point out to Sedaris about his proposed solutions for Confederate monuments?

7. 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?

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

9. In "A Better Place," what are Sedaris's practical objections to the idea that deceased loved ones look down on us from heaven?

10. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what rhetorical purpose unites Sedaris's choice to talk about varying face mask usage, fireworks stores, and gun sightings?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Choose one essay from Happy-Go-Lucky and write an analysis of the truth value of its claims. Explain which details are likely to be factually accurate and why, and why other details are less likely to be factually accurate. Offer an analysis of whether this balance impacts the essay's meaning and value to a reader. You may decide that the essay is more accurate than not, or that it is riddled with fictionalized details--and in either case you may argue that the balance between factually accurate truth and fictionalized truth creates a negative or positive impact on the essay's value. Develop your analysis with clear reasoning and supportive detail from the essay itself.

Essay Topic 3

In "The Vacuum," Sedaris is defensive about being called "tone deaf and elitist" during the Covid-19 pandemic (149). Consider Happy-Go-Lucky as a whole. What elements of Sedaris's writing seem to support this charge? What elements argue against it? Does Sedaris seem aware of and compassionate towards the concerns of ordinary people, or does he seem somewhat self-involved and callous? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position about whether Sedaris is or is not indifferent to the suffering of others. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the anthology.

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