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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. Which of the following best describes the physical appearance of Gay's family members?

2. What does Gay often do after a session with her personal trainer?

3. What kinds of clothes does Gay say she favors?

4. What specific gym does Gay say she joined in the past?

5. What happens to Gay's eating habits when she visits her family?

Short Essay Questions

1. What significance did letting her best friend paint her thumbnail have for Gay?

2. Why does Gay say she still watches reality television weight-loss shows even though she hates them?

3. How does Gay’s family reestablish contact with her after she moves to the west coast?

4. What did Gay say to the young, overweight woman in the dressing room whose mother was mistreating her and why was it important?

5. How does Gay characterize her relationship with Jon?

6. In the period of Gay’s life when she drops out of Yale, why does she feel free?

7. As Gay is finishing her MA program in creative writing, what are most of the fictional stories she writes about?

8. What problem does Gay have when she starts to lose weight and begins feeling better about herself?

9. What does Gay think about the reality television show The Biggest Loser?

10. How does Gay feel when she looks at her friends’ social media posts about doing outdoorsy or athletic things?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Gay repeatedly refers to her body as “unruly.” Write an essay analyzing why she describes her body this way.

Essay Topic 3

When Gay breaks her ankle, her family and loved ones rally around her. “I was broken and then I broke some more, and I am not yet healed but I have started believing I will be” (284). Why does Gay view this event as a possible turning point?

(see the answer keys)

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