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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 does Robert Mapplethorpe say is present in the way he arranges things for his photo shoots?

2. In "Telling Stories," what short story does Didion discuss as an example of her lack of control in writing?

3. What did Mary Hemingway allow Carlos Baker to do in his book published after Hemingway's death?

4. In "Some Women," what word is Mapplethorpe said to dislike regarding his art?

5. Where is Didion working at the start of "Some Women"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Last Words," what did Carlos Baker say with regard to why he thought it important to publish Hemingway's letters?

2. What does Didion say about the first paragraph of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms in "Last Words"?

3. 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?

4. Who is Tony Richardson and how is he described in the two pictures Joan discusses at the start of "Long Distance Runner"?

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

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

7. What does Didion say about the way she thinks, or does not think, at the start of "Why I Write"?

8. In "Some Women," what does Didion say about what artists do and do not like to talk about with regard to their art?

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

10. In "Telling Stories," what grade does Joan say she received in 106A, and why does she think she got that grade?

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 feminist commentary in "Everywoman.com." What aspects of the story come across as particularly feminist? How does this affect the narrative? Use textual evidence to explain your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

Choose 3 essays from Let Me Tell You What I Mean and write an essay about the significance of the time period for each essay. What commentary might the piece say about any significant event or belief of that time?

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