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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 did Barbara do when her dog died, according to Smith in “A Woman with a Little Dog”?

2. Where is Smith’s friend’s cottage, which they are heading to in “A Character in a Wheelchair in the Vestibule”?

3. How does Smith describe the clientele of the nail salon she frequents?

4. Though Smith typically walks by sign holders in the park, what sign intrigues her in “A Provocation in the Park”?

5. What are the only two beauty treatments Smith gets because they either allow her to read or do not take much time?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Smith say she learned from or appreciates about her parents and brother in “Intimations”?

4. How does Smith describe the nail salon and its clientele where she gets her massages in “A Man with Strong Hands”?

5. What are the two beauty treatments Smith will get and why?

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

7. How does Smith describe the way enslavers looked upon the Blacks they kidnapped and brought over on slave ships 400 years ago?

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

9. How does Smith describe Barbara physically?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Smith’s relationship with Ben in “A Man with Strong Hands.” Include the role privilege plays in this essay.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay analyzing Smith’s narrative style in the final essay, “Intimations: Debts and Lessons.” Explore her choice to write this piece in the form of a numbered list. What do you think her intentions or mood were at the time of writing? What are your overall thoughts on this style?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 737 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample