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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. Which friend of Hemingway and his wife does Didion mention at the start of "Last Words"?
(a) Pam.
(b) Polly.
(c) Peggy.
(d) Pauline.

2. In "Long Distance Runner," what argument does Didion cite when discussing how Richardson liked to be contrary?
(a) That all foreign films should be made in English.
(b) That all black and white films should be colorized.
(c) That all silent films should be overdubbed.
(d) That all of his films should be burned.

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

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

5. At the start of "Why I Write," Didion says that "writing is the act of saying" (42) what?
(a) We.
(b) I.
(c) They.
(d) You.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the male character in A Book of Common Prayer which Didion discusses in "Why I Write"?

2. Who wrote the script for "Hills Like White Elephants" discussed in "Long Distance Runner"?

3. What was Didion suffering from which became one of the images used in her novel A Book of Common Prayer?

4. In "Long Distance Runner," what word does Didion say Richardson often used when describing work?

5. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say the writer of a short story needs to have that the writer of a novel does not?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Didion say about the Milton class she had to take in order to graduate from Berkeley?

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

4. What example does Didion cite as proof that Hemingway did not want his letters to be published after his death in "Last Words"?

5. In "Some Women," what does Didion say about what artists do and do not like to talk about with regard to their art?

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

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

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

9. What does Didion say about the title for her talk "Why I Write" at the start? From whom did she steal the title and what did she like about it?

10. What does Didion say about Yoko Ono in "Some Women"?

(see the answer keys)

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