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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 son in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) 17.
(b) 23.
(c) 5.
(d) 10.

2. 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 get through to the readers.
(b) They are able to speak indirectly to the reader.
(c) They are able to contain their bias.
(d) They are able to sway the reader's opinion.

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

4. What is English 106A, the course Didion discusses in "Telling Stories"?
(a) A writer's workshop.
(b) An American literature class.
(c) A poetry workshop.
(d) A British Lit class.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Telling Stories," what Hemingway short story does Didion mention as an example of a writer's "absolute control" (54)?

2. What does Nancy tell Joan is important to a man at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?

3. Didion uses and example from what underground paper at the end of her essay "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

4. What does the first speaker in "Getting Serenity" do before going out to the club?

5. In "Pretty Nancy," Didion describes Nancy has having a smile of someone who did what?

(see the answer key)

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