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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What celebrity did Mamaw consider to be the embodiment of the American Dream, according to Vance in Chapter 10?
(a) Bill Clinton.
(b) Arnold Schwarzenegger.
(c) George W. Bush.
(d) Ronald Reagan.

2. What word does Vance describe an elite acquaintance using in a sentence that made Vance want to scream in the Conclusion?
(a) Articulate.
(b) Confabulate.
(c) Matriculate.
(d) Interrogate.

3. Where does author J. D. Vance currently live?
(a) Berkeley.
(b) New York.
(c) San Francisco.
(d) Los Angeles.

4. Why did Mamaw encourage Vance to learn to play golf?
(a) Because she liked to watch golf on television.
(b) Because that is where rich people do business.
(c) Because she wanted to play golf herself.
(d) Because golf helps the lower back muscles.

5. Where did Papaw install a secret phone line for Vance and his sister so that they could call Mamaw and Papaw when they needed to?
(a) In a kitchen cupboard.
(b) In a bathroom closet.
(c) In the bottom of a toybox.
(d) In the back of Lindsay's closet.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the descent of law firm recruiters every August referred to by the students at Yale Law School?

2. Which of the top law schools did Vance not apply to because he needed a sign-off from the dean of his undergraduate college?

3. What does LSAT stand for?

4. Who were the two people who Vance gave the ACE quiz to that scored a zero?

5. Vance notes in Chapter 13 that if Usha had possessed a terrible personality, she would have made an excellent heroine in a novel by what author?

Short Essay Questions

1. How was the Marine Corps beneficial to Vance's later success in life?

2. What does Vance describe as the single most determinant for a person's success in Chapter 15?

3. Who is Brian and why does Vance discuss him in the Conclusion?

4. What paradox does Vance point out regarding the tuition for Yale Law School in Chapter 12?

5. Why did Vance go to the motel in Middletown in Chapter 15?

6. What does "learned helplessness" mean and how does Vance address it in Hillbilly Elegy?

7. Why was Vance drawn to attending Yale Law School? What aspects of the program appealed to him?

8. What are the impacts of social perceptions of masculinity and femininity in poor societies, according to Vance in Chapter 15?

9. What problems with the foster care system in the U.S. are discussed by Vance in Chapter 15?

10. Why did Vance initially not apply to the top law schools? What changed his mind?

(see the answer keys)

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