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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 what city is Smith in in her story, “An Elder at the 98 Bus Stop”?

2. What “undeserved” thing does Smith say certain titles give to a crime?

3. Smith says that if the people of England are listened to, it is solely for what purpose?

4. What does Smith say can be thought of as a virus due to the way it spreads in “Post-Script: Contempt as a Virus”?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Smith describe the way in which Barbara and other women in the city get older?

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

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

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

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

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

9. Where are Smith and her husband going while they wait to fly to London?

10. What does Smith tell her students about style each semester?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

In the final line of Intimations, Smith says that her “physical and moral cowardice have never really been tested, until now” (97). Write an essay exploring that line and including examples of this from the stories in Intimations.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring how Smith’s ideas about femininity and womanhood have evolved over time as expressed in “Peonies.”

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