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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. From what country is the author of Courtly Vision?

2. Who is the author of Looking for the Rain God?

3. Who is the author of The Fifth Story?

4. Where is the author of Disappearing from?

5. Who wrote Bigfoot Stole My Wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the shoe breaker in The Shoe Breaker? What happens in this story?

2. What is the back-story established in Orion? Who are the main characters?

3. What memory is related in the story Snow?

4. What activity is the father of Las Papas doing in the narrative? What does he teach his son?

5. Why does the central female character in Facing the Light send her servant away? What realization does she face?

6. How does the story The Model reflect the theme of aging?

7. What do the characters in Looking for the Rain God decide to do in order to bring rain?

8. How does the central theme and structure of Looking for the Rain God relate to other stories in the collection?

9. What does the central character in Arrest Me have as his objective? Why?

10. What does the protagonist in A Lover's Ear keep with her at all times? What takes place in the climax of the narrative?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Doris Lessing's career, style and awards. How is Lessing's work represented in Homage to Isaac Babel? What recurring themes appear in Lessing's works?

Essay Topic 2

Compare the works Welcoming the Board of Directors and The Boy. How is the narrative voice in the stories different? What differences exist in the stories' tones? How is the teacher in The Boy reflective of Oates feminist perspective?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the mythology of Xtabay, and the setting and themes in the story Iguana Hunting. What is symbolic in the children's vision?

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