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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. How old is Nancy's daughter Patti in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) 8.
(b) 19.
(c) 12.
(d) 15.

2. At the start of "Why I Write," Didion says that "writing is the act of saying" (42) what?
(a) You.
(b) They.
(c) I.
(d) We.

3. Who do the San Simeon tour guides in "A Trip to Xanadu" tell the group still stays in the 21 room guest house?
(a) Hearst's daughters.
(b) Hearst's sons.
(c) The servants.
(d) Hearst.

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

5. How many people does Didion write in "A Trip to Xanadu" visited San Simeon annually?
(a) 6,000.
(b) 1 million.
(c) 185,000.
(d) 4 million.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are Didion and the TV crew there to observe Nancy doing in "Pretty Nancy"?

2. What does Didion feel meetings such as the one she attended in "Getting Serenity" reinforce in people?

3. According to Didion in "A Trip to Xanadu," in what year did San Simeon become a state monument?

4. What is English 106A, the course Didion discusses in "Telling Stories"?

5. In "Telling Stories," what publication does Didion work for right after college?

(see the answer key)

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