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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 "Lady Marmalade," what does Sedaris say about Lou's physical aggression towards him and his siblings?

2. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," how does one of Sedaris's fans tell him her pet hamster died?

3. In "Lucky-Go-Happy," what nickname does Sedaris say he has given Hugh?

4. In "Lady Marmalade," what incident causes Lou's attitude toward Gretchen to change?

5. In "Pussytoes," what does Lou tell the president of Princeton University?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "A Better Place," what is the rhetorical purpose of describing Lou's grave site in such detail?

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

3. In "A Better Place," what is Sedaris's response to the idea that his father "did his best" (193)?

4. In "Lady Marmalade," what conclusion does Sedaris draw about Lou's motivations for his behavior toward his children's bodies?

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

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

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

8. In "Pearls," how does the purchase of the second apartment illustrate one of Sedaris's main ideas about successful relationships?

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

10. In "Lady Marmalade," what anecdote does Sedaris share about his father's photography and his sister Lisa?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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

"Unbuttoned" is just one of the essays in Happy-Go-Lucky that focuses attention on how Sedaris's relationship with his father shaped him. Consider the various essays in the collection that discuss Sedaris's relationship with his father and what they convey about the complexity of that relationship. What are the claims that Sedaris seems to be making about his father? How do the differing reactions of his siblings support or undermine his claims? How might differing expectations about the presentation of masculinity be a factor in Sedaris's relationship with his father? How do the events in "Unbuttoned" feel like an important shift in Sedaris's relationship with Lou? Do his essays that were written after this time period reflect that a real change has taken place? Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the impact on David Sedaris of being raised by Lou Sedaris and then watching this man decline into old age and death. Support your claims with evidence from throughout the text.

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