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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. What type of professional did Gay interview for her Reporter-at-Large project in high school?

2. What did Gay tell her mother she would decorate her apartment with when she grew up?

3. Which article of clothing did Gay most prefer as a young child?

4. What job did Gay hold in Phoenix where she worked the graveyard shift?

5. What would Gay's mother add to the water when she was washing meat or vegetables?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Gay feel about the use of BMI (body mass index) measurements?

3. What prompts Gay to drop out of Yale and move across the country?

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

5. How does Gay describe her relationship with her family as a young child?

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

7. Why did Gay like the idea of going to boarding school when she was 13?

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

9. What was the most important thing that Mr. McGuinn did for Gay?

10. What relationship did Gay have with the boy who raped her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, Gay describes how she becomes upset or panicked when she starts a new weight-loss regime and starts losing a significant amount of weight. Write an essay explaining why she reacts this way, detailing the conflicting feelings she describes about her obesity.

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

While Gay details her parents’ love and support, she also feels tension with them because of her obesity. Write an essay analyzing the complications and tensions involved in Gay’s relationship with her parents.

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This section contains 665 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample