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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 does Smith’s Masseur call her in “A Man With Strong Hands”?

2. What type of self-hate does Smith say is a sign of mental illness?

3. The man holding the sign in Washington Square Park emailed the university telling them about his condition, which he called?

4. At the end of “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule,” Myron says that everyone is afraid of a cold when all they need to do is what?

5. What does Smith note about the hate from the man holding the sign in Washington Square Park?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Barbara from “A Woman with a Little Dog”?

2. What does Smith say about her husband Nick in Intimations: Debts and Lessons”?

3. Why is Smith going to the ATM in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule”?

4. Which famous New Yorker did Smith read about at the start of the pandemic and reference in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule”?

5. What does Smith say about the “ideal, rent-controlled city dweller” (49)?

6. Why does Smith rarely get manicures and never get pedicures?

7. What does Smith thank Carol for in “Intimations: Debts and Lessons”?

8. Why does Smith say she would likely commit suicide on the first hour of the first day of an apocalypse?

9. What does Smith admit is different between how public school closings impact Ben versus how they impact her family?

10. What does Barbara say to Smith just before she is heading her rental car to leave the city?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the symbolic significance of Barbara in “A Woman with a Little Dog.” What does she represent? What is Smith’s narrative tone in regards to Barbara?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the theme of survival in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule.” Analyze the difference between how Smith deals with the pandemic versus the man with the wheelchair.

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This section contains 653 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample