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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In “Suffering Like Mel Gibson,” Smith says that suffering “is not relative; it is” (34) what?
(a) Necessary.
(b) A waste of time.
(c) Imaginary.
(d) Absolute.

2. Which writer does Smith quote in her essay “Something to Do”?
(a) Ottessa Moshfegh.
(b) Ottessa Moshe.
(c) Odessa Mosher.
(d) Lottie Moshfegh.

3. The moment Smith realized that she had misunderstood the conversation between the women in the Subway shop was the moment Smith says she became aware of her what?
(a) Hearing problems.
(b) Isolation.
(c) Nosiness.
(d) Privilege.

4. What flowers does Smith wish she was looking at instead of peonies?
(a) Roses.
(b) Tulips.
(c) Daffodils.
(d) Lupines.

5. In “Suffering Like Mel Gibson” Smith discusses an article she read about a 17-year-old who committed suicide during the pandemic for what reason?
(a) She did not get enough likes on social media.
(b) She did not have access to the internet from home.
(c) She could not stand Zoom meetings.
(d) She could not see her friends.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what city does Smith live at the start of “Peonies”?

2. What does Smith say “demanded a new dawn” (11)?

3. What is the title of the second essay in Zadie’s Smith’s collection, Intimations?

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

5. What does Trump say we did not have prior to the pandemic, which Smith agrees?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Smith say artists of all kinds are asked at some point in their lives?

2. In “The American Exception” Smith says that Americans attack death as what?

3. Despite a plague's inability to discriminate, Smith says what about the structure of America’s hierarchy?

4. What does Smith say the country had begun to learn or discuss in regards to privilege prior to the virus?

5. What are some of the various types of loneliness Smith describes people felt at the start of the lockdown in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson”?

6. How does Smith describe the similarity and difference between privilege and suffering in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson”?

7. Why does Smith say it was hard for Americans to fathom a plague?

8. Describe the meme Smith references in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson.”

9. What does Smith say about love in “Something to Do”?

10. What does Smith say is the only relief people in lockdown have from one another?

(see the answer keys)

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