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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. At the end of “An Elder at the 98 Bus Stop,” Smith says her mother told a story about someone who did what to his girlfriend during lockdown?

2. From whom did Smith learn how “to consider yourself lucky” (88) even under difficult circumstances?

3. What is the name of the story Smith wrote that includes the homeless man she sees at the ATM?

4. How does Barbara say they will get through this at the end of “A Woman with a Little Dog”?

5. In “A Hovering Young Man,” Smith says that her students have long been suspicious of the “infinite promise of” (56) what?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Smith say, despite her issues with institutions, that she is glad Cy is connected to one?

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

4. What does Myron think of all the people leaving NYC based on the phone call Smith overhears in the ATM?

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

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

7. What does Smith say her feelings have always been about her ability to survive an apocalypse?

8. What does Smith consider might be the reasons for the sign that read “I am a self-hating Asian. Let’s talk!” (66).

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

10. What does Smith say in regards to how certain crimes are categorized?

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 exploring theme of privilege in Smith’s essay, “Suffering Like Mel Gibson.”

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)

This section contains 702 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample