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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 which hospital is White staying when he writes to his friend, Jim Wright?

2. What label does the New York Herald Tribune give to White while responding to his criticism of their editorial?

3. What does White suggest the Department of Corrections at the New Yorker should be changed to in 1935?

4. What year(s) does White write letters about Katharine's miscarriage and his mother's passing?

5. What are the sales of White's book, Stuart Little, in 1946?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is "One Man's Meat"

3. How does White describe kindergarten and high school?

4. What does White write about his brother, Stanley, and his sister, Lillian?

5. How does White describe his meeting in Washington in January, 1942?

6. How do White and Katharine handle their careers when they are first married?

7. Why did White first begin writing during his childhood?

8. What unscheduled vacation does White take from the New Yorker and how does he inform them of his absence?

9. Why does Katharine hesitate before agreeing to marry White?

10. Who is Alice Burchfield?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

E.B. White provides an autobiography about his family background as the preface for the "Letters of E.B. White".

1) Describe the background of White's parents and what led them to make their home in Mt. Vernon.

2) Explain which siblings White is closest to and why.

3) Describe the help and encouragement that White receives while growing up.

Essay Topic 2

Katharine passes away and her legacy is secured as White contributes to his own biography towards the end of his life.

1) Describe the change in White's writing after Katharine passes away, how her literary effects help establish her legacy, and the way her book, "Onward and Upward in the Garden" is published.

2) Explain the contributions that White makes to his biography as it is being written and his opinion of the finished book.

3) Analyze the ways that E.B. White will be remembered along with the impact of his work in writing and entertainment.

Essay Topic 3

White's published criticism of Alexander Wollcott is documented by their letters in the New Yorker.

1) Describe who Alexander Wollcott is, the letter that he writes, and why White finds it offensive.

2) Explain White's response to Wollcott's letter and why it is featured in the New Yorker.

3) Analyze why White decides to write a second letter, the point of the letter, and whether or not he is serious in his criticism or using humor to deliver the point.

(see the answer keys)

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