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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through "Why I Write," "Telling Stories" .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say she did in English 106A to make herself invisible in class?
(a) Wore a hat.
(b) Wore a dirty raincoat.
(c) Wore a black sweatsuit.
(d) Wore sunglasses.

2. What are Didion and the TV crew there to observe Nancy doing in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Cooking for a dinner party.
(b) Whatever she would do on an average Tuesday morning.
(c) Helping her son with his homework.
(d) Writing her memoir.

3. What mandatory class did Didion need to take at Berkeley before she could graduate?
(a) Milton.
(b) Chaucer.
(c) Shakespeare.
(d) Hemingway.

4. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say many publications gave as a reason for not publishing "When Did Music Come This Way"?
(a) The flat characters.
(b) Its depressive nature.
(c) Its lack of plot.
(d) Its poor structure.

5. What word does Joan use to describe the way things were back when she received her rejection letter compared to when she wrote What grade does Joan's friend get on the essay she wrote for him in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Old-Fashioned.
(b) Benign.
(c) Intense.
(d) Silly.

Short Answer Questions

1. From where does Didion receive a rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

2. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say she learned to do in writing "When Did Music Come This Way"?

3. What style of writing does Didion compare Alicia's underground piece to in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

4. Why does Walter Davis feel his perspective on war has changed in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?

5. What is something Didion felt her classmates in English 106A had that she did not in "Telling Stories"?

(see the answer key)

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