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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. What does the poem "Superfluous Advice" suggest about gossip?

2. Hazel Morse prides herself most on what characteristic?

3. What important lesson has "The Little Old Lady in Lavender Silk" learned from life?

4. What is the one "edged" thing in the poem "Midnight"?

5. According to "Salome's Dancing-Lesson," who does not need dance lessons?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Hazel Morse lose her own identity in her efforts to please others in the short story "Big Blonde"?

2. What is the cause of Mr. and Mrs. Weldon's divorce in the short story "Too Bad"?

3. In "Mrs. Hofstadter on Josephine Street," how is Horace the exact opposite of what the narrator and her husband are looking for?

4. Explain the irony in "Ninon de Lenclos, On Her Last Birthday."

5. In the short story "The Last Tea," why does the girl brag about the evening that she had the night before?

6. In the story, "Lady With a Lamp," what is Mona's illness?

7. Explain the allusions in the poem "Prayer for a New Mother."

8. Compare the poems "Surprise," "On Being A Woman," and "Second Love." What do they have in common?

9. How does the narrator of "Lady With a Lamp" make Mona feel worse rather than better?

10. Compare the poems "Star Light, Star Bright--" and "Purposely Ungrammatical Love Song." How are they similar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Dorothy Parker often portrays the relationship between men and women as adversarial. Support this observation by providing and analyzing evidence from both her short stories and her poetry. Be sure to use specific examples and quotations when appropriate.

Essay Topic 3

Describe Dorothy Parker's writing style in her essays. How does this style compare to her short stories and poetry? How do her tone and word choice compare? What types of imagery does she use? How does her writing style influence the effectiveness of her essays? Be sure to include specific examples and quotations to support your observations.

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