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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 "Some Women," what writer does Didion say is quoted as saying that talking about his novel was bad luck?

2. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion say many publications gave as a reason for not publishing "When Did Music Come This Way"?

3. In "Some Women," Didion says that Mapplethorpe's photograph always exhibit a tension between what?

4. For what publication was Hemingway working when he would sometimes rewrite submissions for practice?

5. In "Telling Stories," what novel does Didion say developed from her notes that began about a man and woman in New York?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What character in A Book of Common Prayer developed from an image of the Panama airport at 6 a.m. that stayed in Joan's mind?

3. In "Why I Write," why does Joan say she writes?

4. What does Joan say she learned to do when writing "When Did Music Come This Way," and what did that story allow her to do after it was complete?

5. What did Didion first think Run River was a story about, and what did it become?

6. Why does Joan say she has "no talent" (54) for writing short fiction in "Telling Stories"?

7. What examples from writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Didion's own work does she cite as examples of artist superstitions?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the author of Let Me Tell You What I Mean. Who is she? What else has she written? How is Let Me Tell You What I Mean similar or different from her previous works?

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 a detailed analysis of Didion's feelings in "Last Words" regarding the posthumous publication of Hemingway's works and letters. Use direct examples from the story that show Didion's feelings.

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