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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 "A Trip to Xanadu," Didion says that San Simeon is "exactly the castle" (26) what type of person would build if that person were wealthy?

2. In "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," what does Joan say her father did when she told him of her rejection letter?

3. What does Didion note that meeting attendees have an unusual knack for in "Getting Serenity"?

4. What does Nancy tell Joan she does not believe in being at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?

5. Who does Didion say mainstream writers dine with at the end of "Alicia and the Underground Press"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What example does Joan use to express how much more difficult things have gotten regarding parents trying to ensure their children get into their college of choice?

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

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

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

8. What does Joan say about the "great adventure" the men who fought in the 1940s compared to their sons "great adventure" (40) in Vietnam?

9. What happened when Joan wrote a paper for one of her friends at Stanford? What was the paper about? What grade did he get? What grade did she get?

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

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 narrator reliability in Let Me Tell You What I Mean. Consider the reliability of the one's memory and possible biases one may bring to a piece. Use examples from Let Me Tell You What I Mean in your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analysis the theme of artist and subject in Let Me Tell You What I Mean. Reference "Pretty Nancy," "Some Women," and "Last Words" in your analysis.

(see the answer keys)

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