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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. What does one of the speakers in "Getting Serenity" say used to happen to him each time he passed Gardena?
(a) He would go to a bar.
(b) He would vomit.
(c) He would break out in a cold sweat.
(d) He would buy drugs.

2. In what city in California does the meeting in "Getting Serenity" take place?
(a) San Diego.
(b) Gardena.
(c) Sacramento.
(d) Hollywood.

3. Who does Didion say mainstream writers dine with at the end of "Alicia and the Underground Press"?
(a) President Kennedy.
(b) Howard Hughes.
(c) Harrison Ford.
(d) Henry Ford.

4. 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 Post Office.
(b) The Greyhound.
(c) Restaurants.
(d) The Airport.

5. Who is signed as the Director of Admissions on the rejection letter Joan Didion discusses in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?
(a) Rex P. Smith.
(b) Robert J. Snider.
(c) Rixford K. Snyder.
(d) Redford K. Barboza.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what city does Didion meet Nancy in her home in "Pretty Nancy"?

2. What is one of the words Didion uses to describe the way the Hearsts spend their money in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

3. What is written on Frank L.'s cake in "Getting Serenity"?

4. In "A Trip to Xanadu," who does Didion say she took to tour San Simeon after it became a state monument?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the first female speaker in "Getting Serenity."

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

3. How does Didion describe the tone of the tour guides in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

4. Where is Joan Didion in her essay "Fathers, Sons, Screaming Eagles" (38)?

5. Describe the 22-year-old speaker in "Getting Serenity."

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

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

8. What does Nancy Reagan show Joan at the State Capital and what does she say about it?

9. What does Didion say underground papers are able to do that conventional papers cannot in "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

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

(see the answer keys)

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