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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. What is the author's eldest sister's name?

2. Who becomes Ya Ya's roommate at the private facility?

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

4. What home does Ya Ya finally end up at?

5. What denomination is the money in Lou Sedaris' dresser drawer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the eventual "cure" for David's tics? How?

2. What does David encounter when he returns to Dix Hill?

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

4. Who injures the author in "Cyclops"? What is the result?

5. When does Ya Ya die? How does the family react?

6. What does David do in order to clear his name in "True Detective"?

7. Describe what the title, "Next of Kin" refers to.

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

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

10. What does David's mother insist he stop doing to the cat? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Which essay examines the author's homosexuality? What does he use as the comparison/juxtaposition of his homosexuality? Describe the events and themes of the essay.

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's use of structure and motif in the essay "True Detective." Describe ways in which the author "sets up" the humor in this piece.

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