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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. From where could people see the castle Didion discusses in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

2. What does one of the speakers in "Getting Serenity" say used to happen to him each time he passed Gardena?

3. What does Didion say she considered doing after receiving her rejection letter in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

4. What does one meeting attendee tell Joan happens to kids upon the first time entering a gambling club?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What is Joan doing at Nancy Reagan's home in "Pretty Nancy" and who else is there and why?

5. How did Joan's father react when she told him she did not get into Stanford in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

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

7. How does Didion describe the tone of the tour guides in "A Trip to Xanadu"?

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

9. 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?

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 analysis of literary irony in Let Me Tell You What I Mean. Use direct examples from the following stories to support your analysis: "Pretty Nancy," "Long Distance Runner," and "Everywoman.com."

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about Didion's feeling about the underground press in "Alicia and the Underground Press." Use direct examples from the story that show the reader her views.

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