This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," "Pretty Nancy," "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles" .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Didion say she associates that word serenity with in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) Joy.
(b) Peace.
(c) Death.
(d) Gardening.

2. According to Didion in "A Trip to Xanadu," in what year did San Simeon become a state monument?
(a) 1979.
(b) 1985.
(c) 1958.
(d) 2020.

3. Why is the first speaker in "Getting Serenity" unable to sleep when she returned home after 5 a.m.?
(a) She had to go to work.
(b) Her kids needed breakfast.
(c) She was replaying her game in her head.
(d) It was too light out.

4. What does Nancy say her husband never did even for the movies?
(a) Wore makeup.
(b) Wore new clothes.
(c) Combed his hair.
(d) Smiled.

5. What is Nancy's son's nickname in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Captain.
(b) First Mate.
(c) The Skipper.
(d) Gilligan.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is one of the newspapers that the author lists as one of the few that do not make her feel as though "the oxygen has been cut off from [her] brain tissue" (20)?

2. One meeting attendee in "Getting Serenity" says his idea is getting what?

3. In "Pretty Nancy," where does Joan say Nancy went to college?

4. How old is Nancy's son in "Pretty Nancy"?

5. Who does Didion say mainstream writers dine with at the end of "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

(see the answer key)

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