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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 did Gay have to do in front of an audience that humiliated her?

2. What are doctors surprised to learn about Gay?

3. What kind of cooking does Gay most enjoy?

4. What does Gay tell her writing students that fiction is mostly about?

5. What kind of chairs does Gay dread having to sit in?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Gay’s impression of Oprah and Oprah’s influence on the cultural conversation about weight loss?

2. Why does Gay do extensive research on restaurants before she goes out to eat?

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

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

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

6. What does Gay like about getting tattoos?

7. What does Gay mean by what she calls Lane Bryant fat?

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

9. What is the difference between Gay’s two wardrobes?

10. Why does Gay eventually call her parents and go back home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Growing up in Haitian-American family, Gay felt there were certain expectations and roles she was required to fulfill. Write an essay analyzing how Gay’s cultural background affected her struggles with obesity and loneliness.

Essay Topic 2

Gay repeatedly uses the word “or” to link two disparate ideas. “I do not know why I turned to food. Or I do” (53). “I hate myself. Or society tells me I am supposed to hate myself” (148). Write an essay exploring Gay’s use of this construction and its effect on her arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Reflecting on her adult intimate relationships, Gay writes, “I think most of my sad stories are behind me. There are things I will no longer tolerate” (251). Write an essay summarizing some of Gay’s difficulties in forming healthy intimate relationships and how her attitude towards her own relationships evolves over the course of the book.

(see the answer keys)

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