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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. At the beginning of "Total Effect and the Eighth Grade," how many instances does O'Connor mention parents objecting to their child's reading assignments?

2. In what month did O'Connor present materials from "The Church and the Fiction Writer" during a talk at a college?

3. How often does the college publication that printed a symposium on the subject of the lack of Catholic writers come out?

4. In what year did O'Connor present materials from "The Church and the Fiction Writer" during a talk at a college?

5. For a writer of fiction, everything has its testing point in what body part?

Short Essay Questions

1. What story does O'Connor tell at the beginning of "Catholic Novelists and Their Readers"?

2. Why does O'Connor write powerfully, especially about God?

3. What does O'Connor say about "The Foundling" written by Cardinal Spellman?

4. How does O'Connor say that fiction writers and English teachers have common ground?

5. What does O'Connor mean when she says that writers should heed the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas?

6. How does O'Connor respond to the idea that there is a lack of good Catholic writing in America?

7. Why is the fiction writer vulnerable to public criticism?

8. Why might a Catholic novelist feel angst about being both a Catholic and a fiction writer?

9. How does O'Connor say she believes fiction should be taught?

10. Describe the God that O'Connor says she believes in.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does O'Connor say she must write, as both a Catholic and a novelist? What does she say her is her responsibility? Why is she so passionate about her obligations? Why is it so important to her to meet the obligations she has set for herself? What can be learned about O'Connor as a fiction writer by looking at the ways in which she defines herself? Why do you think she makes it a point to say that she must protect her reality? What does this mean for her and her reader?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the challenges a Catholic writer might face. What problems do Catholic writers face, especially when writing for a secular audience? How might the set beliefs of Catholics affect their vision when creating fiction? What does O'Connor say to these claims? How might these beliefs make a Catholic fiction writer better?

Essay Topic 3

What does O'Connor say about being labeled a Southern writer? Does she feel that it is beneficial to wear this label? What problems does she run into because she is labeled a Southern writer? Based on her tone, how does she seem to feel about how those writing in the South are perceived to always be writing about the South?

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