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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What year did Tony Richardson die according to Didion in "Long Distance Runner"?
(a) 1991.
(b) 2000.
(c) 1989.
(d) 1999.

2. Who does Didion say is the only woman Mapplethorpe photographed who came across as being "entirely in charge of herself" (62)?
(a) Patti Smith.
(b) Grace Jones.
(c) Joan Didion.
(d) Yoko Ono.

3. In "Long Distance Runner," what does Didion think is one of the reasons for Richardson's behavior?
(a) A lack of interest in other people.
(b) A desire to provoke.
(c) A general disdain for others.
(d) A desire to please.

4. In "Telling Stories," how many stories does Didion say she had to write in her English 106A class
(a) 5.
(b) 15.
(c) 2.
(d) 12.

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

6. What was Didion suffering from which became one of the images used in her novel A Book of Common Prayer?
(a) Paratyphoid.
(b) Flu.
(c) Food poisoning.
(d) Norovirus.

7. In "Why I Write," Didion refers to writing as "the tactic of a secret" what?
(a) Bully.
(b) Introvert.
(c) Genius.
(d) Snob.

8. What is something Didion felt her classmates in English 106A had that she did not in "Telling Stories"?
(a) Experience.
(b) Humor.
(c) Friends.
(d) Wealth.

9. In "Why I Write," Didion says that the image that played into her story the most in Book of Common Prayer came from when she was at an airport in which country?
(a) Sweden.
(b) Colombia.
(c) Panama.
(d) Portugal.

10. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion attribute to why she got a B in English 106A?
(a) Her teacher's kindness and understanding.
(b) Her teacher's disorganization.
(c) Her excellent writing.
(d) Her class participation.

11. Where is the film The Border being shot at the start of "Long Distance Runner"?
(a) El Paso.
(b) Hollywood.
(c) Colorado Springs.
(d) New York.

12. In "Long Distance Runner," what word does Didion say Richardson often used when describing work?
(a) Serene.
(b) Impossible.
(c) Holy.
(d) Magic.

13. In "Telling Stories," what publication finally accepted Didion's story "When Did Music Come This Way"?
(a) Denver Quarterly.
(b) The New Yorker.
(c) Esquire.
(d) Harper's.

14. What issue plagued Hemingway by the time he was at the height of fame according to Didion in "Last Words"?
(a) Depression.
(b) Alcoholism.
(c) Agoraphobia.
(d) Poverty.

15. Didion says that one of the pictures in her mind when she began her novel Play it as It Lays came from an incident in what city?
(a) Las Vegas.
(b) New York.
(c) Los Angeles.
(d) Sacramento.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In "Long Distance Runner," where is Richardson filiming in 1989?

3. In "Why I Write," Didion says she writes to understand what sorts of things?

4. In "Some Women," what does Robert Mapplethorpe say is present in the way he arranges things for his photo shoots?

5. From whom does Didion say she stole the title "Why I Write"?

(see the answer keys)

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