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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. 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?

2. After the pandemic, Smith says we must modify our new knowledge of privilege to involve what new category?

3. In “The American Exception,” Smith says that the poorer countries Trump condemned did not have the foresight to be what?

4. At which point does Smith say a man submits to nature?

5. What does Smith liken Trump’s speech to after coming to her senses after the first part of his speech?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How do “defenders of art typically justify its existence” (21) according to Smith?

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

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

5. What does Smith say was missing from the American concept of death in “The American Exception”?

6. Describe the moment Smith realized her own privilege in a Subway shop.

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

8. Describe the article Smith references in “Suffering Like Mel Gibson” about a 17-year-old during lockdown.

9. What does Smith say she does not need “a Freudian” to tell her regarding herself and the two other women her age staring at the tulips in Jefferson Market Garden?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the narrative tone and writing style in “Peonies.” Use examples from the text as evidence for your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the theme of crime and punishment in “A Provocation in the Park.” What are Smtih’s thoughts on the subject and how are her thoughts bolstered or challenged by events in the essay?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing Cy’s character in “A Hovering Young Man.” What does he represent and how does the pandemic affect Cy? What is Smith’s tone in regards to the effect the pandemic has on people like Cy?

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