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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3, Publication and Survival.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Of which writer does Gardner say, "the brilliant language with which he describes a minor character cannot help but suggest that the words he chooses are more important to him than the token secretary behind the desk"?
(a) William Faulkner.
(b) John Updike.
(c) Dylan Thomas.
(d) F. Scott Fitzgerald.

2. Which author went to Paris and studied with one of the shrewdest writers, Gertrude Stein?
(a) Stephen Crane.
(b) Ernest Hemingway.
(c) Henry James.
(d) F. Scott Fitzgerald.

3. The two things that keep the common reader turning the pages, according to Gardner are story or what?
(a) Character.
(b) Argument.
(c) Theme.
(d) Mood.

4. What does Gardner say we call a writer who has less feeling for his characters than we feel they deserve?
(a) Tedious.
(b) Stylized.
(c) Frigid.
(d) Mannered.

5. Where does the manuscript of a book go after the copy editor is finished with it?
(a) Author.
(b) Publisher.
(c) Literary editor.
(d) Typesetter.

Short Answer Questions

1. Gardner claims he has been happy writing since the age of what?

2. In what novel does Levin propose to Kitty, as cited in Chapter 1?

3. Which philosopher maintained that nothing a writer writes means anything, "all the words are a lunatic blithering," since all language is by nature false and misleading?

4. In what novel does Gardner note the rooftop scene as being one of surprise in Chapter 1?

5. Where did Raymond Carver move to Chico, California from?

(see the answer key)

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