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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. In Chapter Six: The Body Electric, who does Deborah say the man she met at the party reminded her of?

2. In Chapter Six: The Body Electric, how does Deborah say her father had taught her to check if fruit was ripe?

3. In Chapter Two: The Tempest, how long does Deborah say she and her ex were together?

4. In Chapter Five: Gravity, what does Deborah say is Mervvy's full name?

5. In Chapter One: The Big Silver, what does Deborah say Big Silver said he was?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Four: Living in Yellow, where does Deborah say she moved? How does she say she thought about this move?

2. In Chapter One: The Big Silver, who does Deborah say was named "Big Silver"? Why was he called this?

3. In Chapter One: The Big Silver, who was the couple Deborah Levy said she oversaw talking? How does she say they met?

4. In Chapter Two: The Tempest, what does Deborah say she resented most about her divorce? How does she say she thought of her unhappiness?

5. In Chapter One: The Big Silver, what does Deborah Levy say she wrote about the Big Silver conversation after she witnessed it? What does she say she thought about the young woman?

6. In Chapter Three: Nets, what does Deborah say her neighbor asked about as Deborah had packed up? What had Deborah's family members used these items for?

7. In Chapter Two: The Tempest, what does Deborah say she had seen in Brazil? How had she applied this to her divorcee life?

8. In Chapter Four: Living in Yellow, what does Deborah write about her supporting her family in this time? What does she say about her freedom?

9. In Chapter Five: Gravity, how does Deborah say she set up her shed? What did she furnish it with?

10. In Chapter Six: The Body Electric, who does Deborah say she was annoyed by? Why did this person annoy her this way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The debate of minor versus major character is prominent in the Cost of Living as Deborah assigns minor and major characterization both to her characters and the people in her life. Who, in your opinion, is a minor character, and who is a major character in the autobiography? Why is it this way? How has the author arranged characterization of her life to achieve the kind of minorization and majorization, the shifts in the patriarchy's story, that she has wanted to achieve?

Essay Topic 2

At the end of Chapter Twelve: The Beginning of Everything, Deborah says:

"The fog had not yet lifted, but I could see a plump cockatoo perched in the middle of the line. It had raised its crested head and was shaking itself from the core of its being. A fine white powder fell from the depth of its feathers and fell like salt at its feet" (126).

Think of the symbolism of birds throughout the book. What do you think the end of this chapter represents, for Deborah, and for the autobiography where it is placed? Write a paper about the metaphor of birds throughout for Deborah and this changing time in her life, and include this image as one of the three to five instances of bird symbolism throughout.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter Four, Deborah says:

"I had energy because I had no choice but to have energy. I had to write to support my children and I had to do all the heavy lifting. Freedom is never free. Anyone who has struggled to be free knows how much it costs" (17).

What is the cost of freedom according to the autobiography? And how does Deborah represent both her struggle and cost for freedom alongside others struggle and cost throughout the autobiography? Relate your reflection and inquiry to the title of the autobiography. What is the cost of living?

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