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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say the writer of a short story needs to have that the writer of a novel does not?
(a) Time to write.
(b) A structured outline.
(c) A robust character.
(d) A clear idea of what her intentions are.

2. 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) Charles S Dutton.
(b) F. Scott Fitzgerald.
(c) Charles A. Fenton.
(d) George Orwell.

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

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

5. In "Telling Stories," what publication does Didion work for right after college?
(a) The Washington post.
(b) The New Yorker.
(c) Ms.
(d) Vogue.

6. 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.

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

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

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

10. What mandatory class did Didion need to take at Berkeley before she could graduate?
(a) Hemingway.
(b) Milton.
(c) Shakespeare.
(d) Chaucer.

11. In "Telling Stories," what Hemingway short story does Didion mention as an example of a writer's "absolute control" (54)?
(a) "Hills Like White Elephants."
(b) "The Killers."
(c) "A Clean Well-Lighted Place."
(d) "Snows of Kilimanjaro."

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

13. 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 a dirty raincoat.
(c) Wore sunglasses.
(d) Wore a hat.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What did Hemingway undergo in February 1961 according to Didion in "Last Words"?

3. What is F. Scott Fitzgerald quoted as calling Hemingway in a letter to Maxwell Perkins in "Last Words"?

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

5. What is something Didion felt her classmates in English 106A had that she did not in "Telling Stories"?

(see the answer keys)

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