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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. Who wins the National Book Award in this section?

2. Who does Flannery note has been drunk for the past two Mondays?

3. With whom did Flannery live for the last months of her life?

4. In the last letter she ever wrote, Flannery uses the salutation of "Dear Raybat" and the closing of _______________.

5. Which author does Flannery encourage Alfred Corn to read?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Flannery describe a teaching assignment to Cecil?

2. What does Flannery share with "A" about seeing her novel in print?

3. How is Flannery's health as the year 1963 comes to a close?

4. How does Flannery show that her characters become very real for her?

5. What fear about her book does Flannery share in a letter in this section?

6. How does Flannery use humor in the incident involving the discovery of body parts?

7. How does Flannery say she reacted when seeing the scope of the changes on her manuscript?

8. How does Sally Fitzgerald's being a friend of Flannery's enriched the experience of the letters for the reader?

9. What is Flannery's perspective on helping other writers?

10. What has become evident about the information Flannery shares with her different friends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a brief character study of Flannery O'Connor. What does she look like? What are her positive personality traits? What are some of her negative characteristics? What are her hopes and fears? What is her primary motivation at this point in her life?

Essay Topic 2

Select three people to whom Flannery wrote letters and write a brief character sketch for each. Be sure to include emotional states, physical characteristics, and their connections to Flannery.

Essay Topic 3

Flannery O'Connor was no stranger to disappointment and rejection. From what you know of O'Connor's life and personality through these letters, what were her biggest letdowns? How did she manage through them? How did her coping skills evidence themselves in many aspects of her life? Explain.

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