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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. Who is the protagonist in "The Fugitive," which the author regularly checks in on?

2. Where does the narrator say his family sits in the church in the first essay?

3. Who does the author say wants to design a lunar module based on the shape of his skull?

4. What is the name of the author's father's friend with the missing eye?

5. What has one of the household members taken to using as toilet paper in "True Detective"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Miss Chestnut scold David for in "A Plague of Tics"?

2. Where is Ya Ya from, and how do she and David's mother feel about each other?

3. How does David's father obtain golf tees? Why does he collect them?

4. How was David's father brought up? How is his mother's cooking described?

5. How does Ya Ya feel about her grandchildren? How do they feel about her?

6. What does "Dix Hill" refer to? Why is this fascinating to the author?

7. Why are the narrator's sisters kidnapped in "Chipped Beef"? How do his parents react?

8. Why does David discover his mother sobbing in the bathroom in "Chipped Beef"? What is his consolation?

9. Why do David's teachers come to his home? What is their impression of his mother?

10. Who in David's family is taken to an institution? What effect does this have?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the essay "Chipped Beef" in terms of theme, setting, stylistic elements, and fantasy.

Essay Topic 2

Describe Sedaris' use of symbolism, motif, and imagery. Define these terms and give examples of each from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's use and description of setting in Naked. How does Sedaris create a visual effect upon the reader? What settings are described in great detail?

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