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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 sunglasses.
(b) Wore a hat.
(c) Wore a black sweatsuit.
(d) Wore a dirty raincoat.

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

3. From whom does Didion say she stole the title "Why I Write"?
(a) George Eliot.
(b) Orson Wells.
(c) Ernest Hemingway.
(d) George Orwell.

4. In "Pretty Nancy," what does Joan say Nancy's father did for work?
(a) He was a musician.
(b) He was a neurosurgeon.
(c) He was a politician.
(d) He was a schoolteacher.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is the first speaker in "Getting Serenity" unable to sleep when she returned home after 5 a.m.?

2. Who is signed as the Director of Admissions on the rejection letter Joan Didion discusses in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

3. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say compelled her to try writing short stories again after 10 years?

4. Where is Skip's son stationed in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?

5. 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)?

(see the answer key)

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