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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," what does Joan say her friend was disappointed about in her 4-year-old's reference letters?

2. What is the name of the castle Didion discusses at the start of "A Trip to Xanadu"?

3. Who built the castle Didion discusses in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

4. Though Didion agrees that writing in underground newspapers is often "amateurish and badly written," she disagrees with what sentiment?

5. Which of Joan's relatives does she show her college rejection letter to in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. In "A Trip to Xanadu," what is the castle people could see from Highway 1 and who built it?

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

6. Why does Didion say that the so-called underground papers she discusses in "Alicia" are not really underground?

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

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

9. What does Walter Davis say about his perspective on the war at the end of "Fathers, Sons, and Screaming Eagles"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a detailed analysis of Didion's views of the people in "Last Words" who published Hemingway's works after his death, and Oppenheimer from "Everywoman.com" who wrote a biography of Martha Stewart.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Didion's commentary on the Vietnam War in "Fathers, Sons, and Screaming Eagles." How is this war different from World War II, which Skip and Walt fought in during the 1940s? Do you know what Didion's thoughts are about the war? If so, how?

Essay Topic 3

Choosing 3 essays from Let Me Tell You What I Mean, write a detailed analysis of tone. Include whether the tone changes or remains the same. If it changes, include details on when, why and whether this change is effective.

(see the answer keys)

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