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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 is the name of the homeless man Smith sees I at the ATM in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule”?

2. In “A Man With Strong Hands,” Smith’s masseur tells her that she never does what while getting a massage?

3. Smith describes the “Ideal, rent-controlled city dweller” who “creates community” without ever using what word?

4. In “A Provocation in the Park,” what types of crimes does Smith say she has trouble deciphering the nuances of?

5. What is the name of Smith’s masseur in “A Man with Strong Hands”?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Smith describe Barbara physically?

3. How does Smith describe Cy at the beginning of “A Hovering Young Man”?

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

5. How does Smith show that others in her building are leaving the city as well?

6. What does the man with the sign say in his email to the entire university community?

7. How does Smith describe the concept of British “class contempt” (74) in “Post-script: Contempt as a Virus”?

8. How does Smith show that when she went to the ATM in the first story in “Screengrabs” it was early on in the pandemic?

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

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

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

Write an essay analyzing the title of Smith’s essay “A Provocation in the Park.” In what ways does this title impact your reading of the essay? In what ways does this title reflect the theme or mood of the story? Use direct examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the theme of submission versus resistance is the short essay “Peonies” in Zadie Smith’s intimations. Use direct examples from the text to support your viewpoint.

(see the answer keys)

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