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. Where was the boarding school Gay attended located?

2. What does Gay's diet during her first summer home from boarding school consist of?

3. What specific community is Gay drawn to online?

4. What specific type of trauma did Gay experience?

5. How many siblings does Gay have?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Gay's relationship to food like before her rape?

2. What was Gay's mother’s approach to teaching her children how to cook?

3. Why did the author gain weight so rapidly once she went to boarding school?

4. What advice about writing did Gay’s teacher, Mr. McGuinn, give to Gay?

5. How does Gay describe Haitian attitudes toward gluttony?

6. What was Gay’s impression of the information session about gastric bypass surgery?

7. How did the boys who raped Gay treat her afterwards?

8. Why does Gay say that gaining so much weight made her feel safer?

9. What habit did Gay pick up at the weight-loss camp she attended in high school?

10. Before she turned to food, what activity did Gay find comfort in as a child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hunger, a memoir, is told entirely from its author’s (first-person) viewpoint. Write an essay analyzing the effect this viewpoint has on the reader in reinforcing the author’s arguments and critiques.

Essay Topic 2

There are many public places that produce anxiety for Gay, who explains “There are very few spaces where bodies like mine fit” (202). Write an essay giving specific examples from the text about some of these spaces and explain how Gay reacts to their challenges.

Essay Topic 3

Gay describes conflicting feelings toward cooking. Explain some of her positive and negative attitudes about cooking, citing specific examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 547 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample