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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 "Last Words," what is Hemingway said to have done to his letters after Ford Madox Ford told him to "write a letter thinking of how it would read to posterity"?
(a) He locked up all his letters.
(b) He published his letters.
(c) He burned his letters.
(d) He rewrote all of his letters.

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

3. 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 memoir.
(c) Writing a collection of short stories.
(d) Painting.

4. In "Long Distance Runner," what does Didion think is one of the reasons for Richardson's behavior?
(a) A desire to provoke.
(b) A desire to please.
(c) A lack of interest in other people.
(d) A general disdain for others.

5. In "Telling Stories," how many stories does Didion say she completed for English 106A?
(a) 1.
(b) 5.
(c) 3.
(d) 0.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Telling Stories," how many stories does Didion say she had to write in her English 106A class

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

3. In "Telling Stories," how many places had Didion lived by the time she took English 106A?

4. 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?

5. What is English 106A, the course Didion discusses in "Telling Stories"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the scene from "Long Distance Runner" when Didion and her husband arrive at St. Tropez to pick up their daughter.

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

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

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

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

7. In "Telling Stories," what grade does Joan say she received in 106A, and why does she think she got that grade?

8. How does Didion describe the public image and perception of Hemingway in "Last Words"?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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