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

2. In "A Trip to Xanadu," what is the name of the pool at San Simeon?

3. Who is signed as the Director of Admissions on the rejection letter Joan Didion discusses in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

4. In "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice," Joan dates a man who aspires to be what?

5. What are the underground newspapers Didion describes in "Alicia and the Underground Press" able to do that mainstream papers are not?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What does Nancy Reagan show Joan at the State Capital and what does she say about it?

6. Describe Nancy Reagan's interaction with her son at the end of "Pretty Nancy"?

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

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

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

10. What do the tour guides in "A Trip to Xandadu" say about Hearsts sons?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how Joan Didion's personal bias might influence her writing. Use the following stories as reference: "Everywoman.com," "Last Words," and "Long Distance Runner."

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

Write an essay analyzing Didion's relationship with the written word. Use the following stories as reference: "Alicia and the Underground Press," "Why I Write," "Telling Stories," and "Last Words." Consider examples that show Didion's level of respect for the written word as well as her respect for other writers. Also, include why Didion herself writes and how she sees herself as a writer.

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