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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Portugal.
(b) Colombia.
(c) Panama.
(d) Sweden.

2. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say compelled her to try writing short stories again after 10 years?
(a) Her interest in portraying a window into someone's world.
(b) The fear she would not write another novel.
(c) A lack of ideas.
(d) Her boredom with long prose.

3. In "Telling Stories," how many places had Didion lived by the time she took English 106A?
(a) 2.
(b) 12.
(c) 8.
(d) 25.

4. 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) Yoko Ono.
(d) Joan Didion.

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

6. What is one of the images Didion says many people have seen of Hemingway?
(a) Playing baseball.
(b) Drinking scotch.
(c) Fencing bulls.
(d) Riding in a rodeo.

7. In "Last Words," who is Hemingway said to have written telling him to give up the idea of writing a book on him because he did not wish to cooperate?
(a) F. Scott Fitzgerald.
(b) Charles S Dutton.
(c) George Orwell.
(d) Charles A. Fenton.

8. In "Some Women," what writer does Didion say is quoted as saying that talking about his novel was bad luck?
(a) Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
(b) Joseph Conrad.
(c) Ernest Hemingway.
(d) George Orwell.

9. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say she did in English 106A to make herself invisible in class?
(a) Wore a black sweatsuit.
(b) Wore sunglasses.
(c) Wore a hat.
(d) Wore a dirty raincoat.

10. 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 catholic upbringing.
(c) His obsessive nature.
(d) His laid back attitude.

11. 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.

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

13. 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 burned his letters.
(b) He published his letters.
(c) He rewrote all of his letters.
(d) He locked up all his letters.

14. What did Hemingway instruct his executors to do in a letter written a few years before his death?
(a) Edit his letters before publication.
(b) Complete any unfinished novels for publication.
(c) Leave all proceeds from publication to his family.
(d) Never to publish or agree to publish his letters.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Telling Stories," what publication does Didion work for right after college?

2. At the start of "Why I Write," Didion says that "writing is the act of saying" (42) what?

3. In "Telling Stories," how many stories does Didion say she completed for English 106A?

4. In "Long Distance Runner," who did Richardson take to France when Didion and her husband were unable to join him?

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

(see the answer keys)

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