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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 does she buy at Saks that she can't fit into her Corvette?

2. What phrase does Helene's friends who are about ten years older than Helene say to one another?

3. According to Carter, who besides him, Maria, and the possible father, does NOT know about the affair?

4. What is the name of the street where the doctor Maria went to see about the pregnancy practices?

5. What does Maria say to the baby after Carter warns her about the baby getting chilled?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the period before Maria has her abortion, what rituals does she perform in order to induce menstruation and why does she do them?

2. Who is Paulette and what is Maria's relationship to her?

3. What memory does Carter have of Maria and the baby and what does it reveal about Maria?

4. Who is Benny Austin and what does he represent in the novel?

5. How does BZ respond to Maria's inquiries about whom Carter is sleeping with and what does it signify?

6. What are the two films Maria has starred in that Carter has made and how does she feel about them?

7. What kind of man was Maria's father and what impact did it have on Maria?

8. How does Maria feel after her abortion and what does it signify?

9. What is the only time in Maria's day where she does not think about the past nor is overcome with dread?

10. What does Maria's unannounced visit to her agent, Freddy Chaikin, reveal about her profession as an actress and the business of movie-making?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss autobiographical elements in "Play It as It Lays". What aspects of Didion's life is portrayed in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the treatment of women in the novel. What roles are women valued for and why? What is the relationship between equality and power in the ways in which women are treated?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the representation of the film industry in the novel.

1. Discuss Maria's, Carter's, and BZ's professions within the industry.

2. How is the business of movie-making portrayed?

3. What is the dominant culture of the film industry?

(see the answer keys)

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