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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. According to the poem "Indian Summer," how has the narrator changed since her youth?

2. How does Mr. Durant plan to get rid of the stray dog?

3. What color dress does Mimi buy for her husband's leave?

4. According to Mrs. Whittaker, why has the Old Gentleman left all of his money to her?

5. What kind of flowers does the woman at the dinner party have in her hair in the story "Arrangement in Black and White"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the girl in "The Sexes" rude to the young man?

2. How might Mrs. Martindale solve Mrs. Wyman's problem and her own at the same time?

3. In the short story "A Telephone Call," how does the narrator rationalize her irrational behavior?

4. What does Mr. Durant's reaction to Rose's situation and her departure reveal about him?

5. What message is sent by the poem "Now At Liberty"?

6. In "Arrangement in Black and White," what do the woman's behavior and comments at the dinner party reveal about her?

7. In the short story, "The Wonderful Old Gentleman," what influence has the Old Gentleman had on the Bains' lives in the five years that he has lived with them?

8. Explain the irony in the poem "The False Friends."

9. Describe the role of Mrs. Whittaker in the story "The Wonderful Old Gentleman."

10. Why is Mimi upset by her husband's compliment about her black dress in "The Lovely Leave"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the ways in which some characters in Dorothy Parker's short stories exert control over other characters. What methods do they use to gain and maintain this control? What purpose does this control seem to serve? What seems to be Parker's attitude toward these "controlling" characters? Be sure to include specific examples and quotations to support your points.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Dorothy Parker's criticisms of modern life. How does she attack consumerism and societal "niceties"? What aspects of modern culture does she find fault with? What are the negative consequences of such behaviors? Be sure to provide specific examples and quotations as support for your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the influence that Dorothy Parker's socialist perspective has on her writing, in particular her later writing. Be sure to include specific examples and quotations from several different pieces in order to support your points.

(see the answer keys)

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