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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 Didion find the island to be?

2. What has Didion been told to expect?

3. What is Didion curious to see at the Pearl Harbor memorial?

4. What job did Didion's great-great-grandfather do in Hawaii?

5. What did Didion use to chase through the fields?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Didion think no one can truly define what is moral?

2. Describe the movie on which Didion bases this essay.

3. How do the scientists think the Santa Ana winds work to cause psychological changes?

4. Describe Didion's upbringing in Sacramento.

5. Describe Alcatraz Island as depicted in this essay.

6. Describe the history of Sacramento.

7. Why is Hawaii important to Didion?

8. What problems does Didion face when she and her husband visit her family?

9. How does Didion feel when visiting Pearl Harbor?

10. What are Didion's thoughts about the island?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify the main themes of the book. Why do you think these themes are so important to Didion? How does Didion express the main themes of the book through each essay?

Essay Topic 2

Using only the essays in Slouching Towards Bethlehem, write Joan Didion's biography.

Essay Topic 3

Write a 500-word essay addressing the following statement: None of Didion's peers challenge her beliefs and, because of that, her essays do not express any new ideas.

(see the answer keys)

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