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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. From where could people see the castle Didion discusses in "A Trip to Xanadu"?
(a) Highway 61.
(b) Highway 15.
(c) Highway 80.
(d) Highway 1.

2. What does the first speaker in "Getting Serenity" do before going out to the club?
(a) Put her children to bed.
(b) Drink 1/5 of vodka.
(c) Buy drugs.
(d) Shoot up.

3. Who is the author of Let Me Tell You What I Mean?
(a) Martha Stewart.
(b) Alicia Didion.
(c) Joan Didion.
(d) Ernest Hemingway.

4. What are the underground newspapers Didion describes in "Alicia and the Underground Press" able to do that mainstream papers are not?
(a) They are able to sway the reader's opinion.
(b) They are able to get through to the readers.
(c) They are able to contain their bias.
(d) They are able to speak indirectly to the reader.

5. Who is Nancy's husband in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Frank Sinatra.
(b) George Bush.
(c) Richard Nixon.
(d) Ronald Reagan.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the subject of the essay Joan's friend asked her to write for him in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

2. What is the name of the male character in A Book of Common Prayer which Didion discusses in "Why I Write"?

3. What year does "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice" first mention?

4. How many people does Didion write in "A Trip to Xanadu" visited San Simeon annually?

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

(see the answer key)

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