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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through "Some Women," "The Long Distance Runner," "Last Words" Part I.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Tony Richardson begin doing years before his death for "something to do" between film shoots?
(a) Painting.
(b) Writing a memoir.
(c) Working on a TV script.
(d) Writing a collection of short stories.

2. What does the newsman want Nancy to do as she answers the first question he asks her in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) Nip a bud.
(b) Giggle and look away.
(c) Smile and nod.
(d) Pour some lemonade.

3. In "Some Women," what does Robert Mapplethorpe say is present in the way he arranges things for his photo shoots?
(a) His controlling parents.
(b) His obsessive nature.
(c) His laid back attitude.
(d) His catholic upbringing.

4. Which Hemingway novel is quoted at the start of "Last Words"?
(a) The Old Man and the Sea.
(b) A Farewell to Arms.
(c) The Sun Also Shines.
(d) A Moveable Feast.

5. What does Didion say she has never read in an underground paper in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?
(a) She says she has never read anything she needs to know.
(b) She says she has never read anything well written.
(c) She says she has never read anything political.
(d) She says she has never read anything useless.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In "Long Distance Runner," what does Didion think is one of the reasons for Richardson's behavior?

3. What does Nancy tell Joan she does not believe in being at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?

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

5. What was Didion suffering from which became one of the images used in her novel A Book of Common Prayer?

(see the answer key)

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