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

2. At the end of “The American Exception,” what did Smith say states were forced to bid on during the pandemic?

3. What does Smith say writers often write about at some point in their careers at the start of “Something to Do”?

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

5. The day Smith looked at the peonies in the Jefferson Market Garden was just a few days before what Smith refers to as what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Smith describe the space typically occupied by artists?

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

3. Whose speech does “The American Exception” begin with and what it is in regards to?

4. What is one of the societal issues Smith says the pandemic lockdown has forced many people to face?

5. What does Smith say about what disaster demands at the start of “The American Exception”?

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

7. What does Smith says is the true reason writers write when most else is “stripped away” (20)?

8. What does Smith compare the way in which she packs her free time to at the start of “Peonies’?

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

10. What is Smith doing at the very start of “Peonies’?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the way in which Smith and her mother try to create some kind of normalcy during the pandemic lockdown in “An Elder at the 98 Bus Stop.” How do they interact? What do they discuss? How is this attempt at normalcy possible or impossible?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay exploring the significance of the title of Smith’s short essay “The American Exception.” Use direct examples from the text to support your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay expounding on the theme of contempt in “Post-script: Contempt as a Virus.” Include the examples of both British and American forms of contempt Smith describes.

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