View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Last Words," what is Hemingway said to have done to his letters after Ford Madox Ford told him to "write a letter thinking of how it would read to posterity"?
(a) He rewrote all of his letters.
(b) He published his letters.
(c) He locked up all his letters.
(d) He burned his letters.

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

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

4. For what publication was Hemingway working when he would sometimes rewrite submissions for practice?
(a) The Atlantic Monthly.
(b) Vogue.
(c) Transatlantic Review.
(d) The New Yorker.

5. 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) Sacramento.
(c) Los Angeles.
(d) New York.

6. What does Didion say she tried very hard to do while a student at Berkeley in "Why I Write"?
(a) Think more realistically.
(b) Think in abstracts.
(c) Think clearly.
(d) Think like her professors.

7. What did Hemingway undergo in February 1961 according to Didion in "Last Words"?
(a) Psychotherapy.
(b) Shock treatment.
(c) A heart transplant.
(d) Chemotherapy.

8. Where is Didion working at the start of "Some Women"?
(a) Vogue.
(b) Mademoiselle.
(c) Lady's Home Journal.
(d) Cosmopolitan.

9. In "Why I Write," Didion says she writes to understand what sorts of things?
(a) Other people's emotions.
(b) Her fears and desires.
(c) Humanity.
(d) The universe.

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

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

12. Who found Hemingway after he had shot himself in 1961?
(a) His brother.
(b) His son.
(c) His agent.
(d) His wife.

13. What did Mary Hemingway allow Carlos Baker to do in his book published after Hemingway's death?
(a) Publish 600 of his letters.
(b) Publish his unedited manuscript.
(c) Rewrite his most famous novels.
(d) Write disparagingly of Hemingway.

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

15. Where did Hemingway shoot himself in 1961?
(a) Havana.
(b) Key West.
(c) Ketchum, Idaho.
(d) Africa.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Which friend of Hemingway and his wife does Didion mention at the start of "Last Words"?

3. What tennis player's behavior did Richardson say was "glorious" accordion to Didion in "Long Distance Runner"?

4. In "Last Words," what writer does Didion say she could see Hemingway's influence on while teaching at Berkeley?

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 511 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample