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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 "Why I Write," what does Didion say she "plays by ear" (44)?
(a) Guitar.
(b) Grammar.
(c) Piano.
(d) Saxophone.

2. 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 clear idea of what her intentions are.
(c) A robust character.
(d) A structured outline.

3. In "Some Women," Didion says that Mapplethorpe's photograph always exhibit a tension between what?
(a) Masculine and feminine.
(b) Good and bad.
(c) Light and dark.
(d) Right and wrong.

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

5. What tennis player's behavior did Richardson say was "glorious" accordion to Didion in "Long Distance Runner"?
(a) Arthur Ashe.
(b) Andre Agassi.
(c) John McEnroe.
(d) Serena Williams.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In "Why I Write," Didion refers to writing as "the tactic of a secret" what?

3. What did Hemingway instruct his executors to do in a letter written a few years before his death?

4. In "Why I Write," Didion says she writes to understand what sorts of things?

5. What did Mary Hemingway allow Carlos Baker to do in his book published after Hemingway's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Tony Richardson and how is he described in the two pictures Joan discusses at the start of "Long Distance Runner"?

2. What character in A Book of Common Prayer developed from an image of the Panama airport at 6 a.m. that stayed in Joan's mind?

3. What does Didion say of Richardson's often contrary behavior?

4. In "Last Words," what did Carlos Baker say with regard to why he thought it important to publish Hemingway's letters?

5. Where did Didion attend photoshoots in her story "Some Women," and what does she say she noticed about the most successful shoots?

6. Why does Joan say she has "no talent" (54) for writing short fiction in "Telling Stories"?

7. In "Telling Stories," what class did Joan discuss taking as a junior at Berkeley and how did she feel in that class?

8. What surprised Didion after Richardson's death upon reading his manuscript?

9. What brief moment at the Riviera Casino in Las Vegas worked into her novel Play it as it Lays?

10. In "Telling Stories," how does Joan describe what she learned about writing while working at Vogue?

(see the answer keys)

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