1. As Smith stares into the garden of peonies near two other women her age, Smiths comments of what “gaudy symbol,” the flowers represent, “in the middle of a barren concrete metropolis” (3)?
(a) Fertility.
(b) Opportunity.
(c) Holiness.
(d) Sadness.

2. Smith refers to the space of time that artists usually occupy as a “charming but useless” what?
(a) Playpen.
(b) Existence.
(c) Reality.
(d) Playground.

3. Who were the few people, according to Smith, who did not have to “seek out something to do” during the pandemic?
(a) Essential workers.
(b) Gamers.
(c) Painters.
(d) Writers.

4. What is the title of the third story in Zadie Smith’s collection, Intimations?
(a) Something to write.
(b) How to fill time during a pandemic.
(c) Something to Say.
(d) Something to Do.

5. What date was the speech Smith references at the start of “The American Exception”?
(a) 2019.
(b) 2020.
(c) 2021.
(d) 2018.

Short Answer Questions

1. Despite a pandemic’s ability to discriminate, says Smith, the structure of American hierarchy meant that which groups experience higher death rates?

2. What song does Smith reflect on how the lyrics would change if it were written for a man?

3. Which philosopher does Smith cite when discussing the difference between the thinker and his real life?

4. What purported purpose of art does Smith say is usually overstated in her essay “Something to Do”?

5. Who does Smith say are patronized by people of all ages?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 269 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)

View a FREE sample