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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following terms most closely resembles the way in which Anderson uses the phrase "bonfire/of his vanities" in the poem entitled "not responsible for contents" (238)?
(a) Allusion.
(b) Hyperbole.
(c) Parody.
(d) Metaphor.

2. After how many years did Anderson's father regain a position within a certain line of work he had previously done?
(a) 6.
(b) 3.
(c) 4.
(d) 2.

3. Which celebrity does Anderson name as a woman who "was three months older than" (129) she is?
(a) Aaliyah.
(b) Farrah Fawcett.
(c) Brittany Murphy.
(d) Lady Diana.

4. Anderson reports that her father again found work in what arena after a period of years?
(a) Retail.
(b) Education.
(c) Medicine.
(d) Clergy.

5. Anderson frowns on parents who tell their children what maxim?
(a) To believe in themselves.
(b) To be true to themselves.
(c) To reach for the stars.
(d) To follow their dreams.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the Wite-out in the poem entitled "calving iceberg" (138) symbolize?

2. About which family member(s) of Anderson's is the poem entitled "strawberry-blonde fairy tales" (129)?

3. The poem entitled "scratching my throat with a pen" (149) is about Anderson's night job in what field?

4. What emotion of the speaker's acts as the central mood of the poem entitled 'sincerely" (236)?

5. The poem entitled "inappropriate dictators" (191) begins with a portrait of a public school superintendent from which state?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Anderson characterize the way in which her life and her stories intersect?

2. How does the theme of family bonds enter the part of the memoir about Anderson’s return home from Denmark?

3. To what location is Anderson referring when she discusses her “last leaving” and her “predawn trip” in the poem “calving iceberg” (138)?

4. What mistakes does Anderson think that Western society is making when socializing young boys and why?

5. In what way does the sound motif appear within SHOUT?

6. For what purpose did Anderson go to Denmark and for how long did she stay?

7. What two elements does Anderson contrast within the poem “triptych” (210) and for what purpose?

8. How does the theme of isolation enter the part of the memoir dealing with Anderson’s time at Georgetown University?

9. What list does Anderson provide within the poem entitled “forgiveness” (206) and for what purpose does she include this list?

10. Whom does Anderson credit with teaching her everything she knows about (170) her “responsibility to [her] readers”?

(see the answer keys)

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