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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 Seven: The Black and Blueish Darkness, what possession from her mother does Deborah say she treasured?

2. In Chapter Seven: The Black and Blueish Darkness, what does Deborah say we expect our mothers to do?

3. In Chapter Eight: The Republic, what does Deborah say Simone had refused to do with Algren?

4. In Chapter Eight: The Republic, what does Deborah say that her friend said about her husband?

5. In Chapter Nine: Night Wandering, where does Deborah say she would buy the ice lollies from?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Ten: X is Where I Am, what does Deborah say Clara thought of Deborah's life? What does Deborah say she thought of this?

2. In Chapter Eleven: Footsteps in the House, who does Deborah say appeared in her house? Why does Debrah say she was wary seeing her?

3. In Chapter Nine: Night Wandering, what does Deborah say happened when she read her book out loud at a festival in Berlin?

4. In Chapter Seven: The Black and Bluish Darkness, what does Deborah say her new life was about? Why does she say this?

5. In Chapter Ten: X is Where I Am, what does Deborah say she told Clara about dating again? How does she say Clara responded?

6. In Chapter Seven: The Black and Bluish Darkness, what does Deborah say she had for dinner? What happened with dinner?

7. In Chapter Eleven: Footsteps in the House, what are the two quotes that Deborah cites at the end of the chapter? How do they apply to her marriage?

8. In Chapter Eleven: Footsteps in the House, who does Deborah say were her companions on the train? How does she say they interacted?

9. In Chapter Eight: The Republic, who does Deborah say she met? What did Deborah advise?

10. In Chapter Ten: X is Where I Am, who does Deborah say took to driving her around the city and why? Who also rode with them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Naming and its importance, is a major topic as Deborah becomes irritated that her male colleagues only refer to their spouses as "wife." As she says, "If we don't have names, who are we?" (8).

Apply this idea to how Deborah writes the autobiography. Who is named and who is unnamed in the autobiography? Which of the "characters" are male and female who are named and unnamed? Consider this about the naming and unnaming of wives for Deborah's male friends. What are considerations of naming someone, and how does Deborah use this in her autobiography account? Also consider how naming is a kind of seeing, and not naming is a kind of unseeing.

Essay Topic 2

Deborah and Clara compare their lives to their mothers' lives in generations past where women stayed at home and had children. Deborah compares herself to other women past, such as Simon de Beauvoir. How do these different women fight for their freedoms within the constraints of their societies? How do they negotiate freedom, and what cost do they pay for the freedoms they have? Choose at least five women in the autobiography to compare and align for this paper.

Essay Topic 3

The Cost of Living is an autobiography written by a writer with a playwright background. Which parts of the book seem most theatrical and suited to the theatre to you? Choose two passages that seem most theatrical to write, how does Deborah's experience and knowledge of the theatre shape the way she writes this autobiography?

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