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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 happened to the car when it crashed?

2. What does Didion ask the reader in this essay?

3. What does Didion say Hughes is?

4. How does Didion describe Baez?

5. What does Lucille's husband do for a living?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Lucille tell the police happened on October 7, 1964?

2. Why does Didion think it is important to work at self-respect?

3. What reason does Didion give for self-respect being so important?

4. How did John Wayne react to the problems on set?

5. Who is Michael Laski?

6. What is Didion's view on the center?

7. Why did Didion choose Howard Hughes as her subject?

8. How did not being elected to Phi Beta Kappa in college affect Didion?

9. Why does Didion think she wrote about the woman in a dirty wrapper?

10. What do you think is the overall message of this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How had America changed since the Fifties to allow for a communist radical such as Michael Laski?

Essay Topic 2

Using two sources outside of the book, write a critical essay on one of Didion's own essays. Do you agree or disagree with central themes of her work? Support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the books chronological setting.

1) What were the main concerns during the 1960s? How does Didion express these concerns?

2) In what ways do you think the essays' meanings would change if they were set in today's society?

(see the answer keys)

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