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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What poet does White parody in a December, 1918 letter to his mother?
(a) T.S. Eliot.
(b) Robert Browning.
(c) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
(d) Robert Frost.

2. Which one of the following is not included in the list of people White says will read the pamphlet he worked on in Washington?
(a) Gas station workers.
(b) Teachers.
(c) Manicurists.
(d) Future soldiers.

3. Where is the Whites' farm located?
(a) Sedgwick, ME.
(b) Sunshine, ME.
(c) Brooklin, ME.
(d) Naskeag, ME.

4. What idea does White speak against while in Washington?
(a) That writing can be done without humor.
(b) That writing can be done by committee.
(c) That writing can be done under pressure.
(d) That writing can be done without research.

5. In his January, 1942 letter to Katharine, how does White describe his meeting with the assembled team in Washington?
(a) Oppressive and bureaucratic.
(b) Neither oppressive nor bureaucratic.
(c) Oppressive, but not bureaucratic.
(d) Bureaucratic, but not oppressive.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of background did White's mother have?

2. Which movie character does White write to his brother, Stanley, about in 1937?

3. What possible excuse does White provide for the New Yorker's ignorance in his humorous letter of outrage in 1945?

4. How does the New York Herald Tribune refer to White in their response to his criticism?

5. When does White resign from writing for Harper's magazine?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where were White's parents from and what is their background?

2. How does White return to the New Yorker and what embarrassing situation does he encounter there?

3. What happens in 1941 that leads to White's work in Washington?

4. How does White discover the New Yorker?

5. What impulsive decision does White write to Katharine about in May, 1937?

6. What is the New York Herald Tribune's response to White's letter, and how does he reply?

7. What is "One Man's Meat"

8. How does White show Katharine her importance in his life?

9. How does White describe kindergarten and high school?

10. What does White do after he returns from his road trip?

(see the answer keys)

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