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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. How did Hellman feel about the protests made against McCarthy?

2. What did Harry do before his hearing?

3. After Hellman sent her letter, what did she do?

4. Hellman explains the government saw intellectuals as ______.

5. The wife of Hellman's D.C. cab driver was going to have an operation for ______ cancer.

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the House Committee's response to Hellman's letter? How would she proceed with her testimony?

2. How did Hellman attempt to gain the upper hand with the government? What was her letter trying to change?

3. When looking back at the drama with the McCarthy hearings, what did Hellman feel?

4. How did Hellman deal with her money problems while in D.C.? Why did she act as she did?

5. What was unfair about asking foreign governments to assist America in their crisis?

6. Was Hellman's plan to abstain from incriminating others impossible?

7. Was Hellman and Hammett's relationship perfect after Hammett's release? What was their relationship like?

8. Why did Hellman have to stop writing when returning from Rome?

9. In Hellman's opinion, who did the greatest harm to America? How?

10. What was Leonard Bernstein's advice to Hellman about her testimony? Why didn't Hellman need to follow it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the effect money had on Hellman's life, giving examples from the book to support your statements.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how and why Hellman's political conviction grew. What caused this growth and why did she end up as she did? Provide quotes from "Scoundrel Time" to support your discussion.

Essay Topic 3

Hellman often switches from an objective account to a personal blow to government officials. Many of these comments add humor to the text. Discuss how Hellman uses humorous and ridiculous recollection in her work. What does this display about her subconscious perspective? Hellman as a person? Hellman at the time of writing?

(see the answer keys)

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