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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 Bombeck's butcher continually refuse to do?

2. Who is Bombeck's focus in "At What Age Is a Child Capable of Dressing Himself"?

3. What did Bombeck claim mothers always have a hard time getting right when it came to their children?

4. What did Bombeck claim her husband sounded like in "If You Thought the Wedding Was Bad"?

5. What did Bombeck claim people only saw when discussing Tom Suggs and his career?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe some of the things that children must be aware of when staying home alone in "Primer for Imaginative Children."

2. What was the purpose of the article about the female architect and how did it make Bombeck feel as a result?

3. What question did Bombeck discuss in "Mother Mystique" and what was her answer?

4. What were some of the basic tasks that Bombeck's family were unable to perform in "Is There Life After Mine?"

5. Describe Bombeck's humor.

6. What were some of the snoring "cures" Bombeck considered for her husband?

7. According to "If You Thought the Wedding Was Bad," what were some of the differences between men and women that should be discussed prior to the wedding?

8. According to "Primer for Imaginative Children," what had become the typical office's stance on doctor's appointments and surgeries?

9. In "Who Killed Apple Pie?", what does Bombeck say started to happen to housewives and what was the result?

10. What did Bombeck claim about remembering children's names in "Haven't I Always Loved Whatshisname Best?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Bombeck's stance on holding respect for others in the following format:

Part 1) Respect between parents and children.

Part 2) A Baby's Bill of Rights.

Part 3) The artificiality of the media.

Part 4) The woman on the airplane in "Are You Listening?"

Part 5) Her relationships with her children, husband, and mother.

Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Bombeck's use of observational humor in "If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?" Focus particularly on her anecdotes about her family and how she feels particularly confused by certain trends and ideas in society.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how Bombeck's success as a columnist was directly tied to the time period in which she wrote. Analyze the criticism she faced for her gender and seeming lack of feminism. Develop a clear thesis statement in order to discuss these questions and cite specific examples from the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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