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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Pretty Nancy," Didion describes Nancy has having a smile of someone who did what?
(a) Grew up in comfort.
(b) Married a politician.
(c) Said something funny.
(d) Grew up poor.

2. Where does Didion say she used to eavesdrop on people's conversations thinking "it was a good way to learn about life" (23) in "Getting Serenity"?
(a) The Airport.
(b) The Post Office.
(c) Restaurants.
(d) The Greyhound.

3. What does Skip keep in his pocket in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?
(a) A newsclipping about his son.
(b) A photo of his father from when he fought in World War I.
(c) A picture of himself during the war.
(d) A medal from when he was in the war.

4. From where does Didion receive a rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Stanford University.
(b) UCLA.
(c) Harvard.
(d) Berkeley.

5. Didion uses and example from what underground paper at the end of her essay "Alicia and the Underground Press"?
(a) The Wall Street Journal.
(b) The East Village Voice.
(c) The Free Press.
(d) The Berkeley Barb.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old is the man who speaks second in "Getting Serenity" who states that the city has "destroyed" (23) him?

2. Where did the second speaker in "Getting Serenity" first start gambling?

3. What type of meeting does Didion cover in "Getting Serenity"?

4. In what grade does Joan's friend get on the essay she wrote for him in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," how many applications does Joan say the private kindergarten her friend was trying to get her child into received?

5. Why does Walter Davis feel his perspective on war has changed in "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Joan's father react when she told him she did not get into Stanford in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

2. What does Didion says about the way Alicia writers her opinion piece about Ann Arbor in "Alicia"?

3. In what way does the newsman in "Pretty Nancy" try to manipulate the moment to achieve his desired outcome?

4. What does Didion say about objectivity in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

5. What part of the meeting in "Getting Serenity does Didion find most unsettling and why?

6. Where does Didion say she felt she needed to be in the days following the Gambler's Anonymous meeting in "Getting Serenity"?

7. How does Didion describe the way the Hearsts spent money in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

8. Who is Skip Skivington and what does he tell Joan about his son in "Fathers, Sons, and Screaming Eagles"?

9. What do the tour guides in "A Trip to Xandadu" say about Hearsts sons?

10. What happened to Joan on April 25, 1952 in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice" and how did she react?

(see the answer keys)

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