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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 is Louise's close friend in college?

2. In the story Testimony of Pilot, what does Radcleve do to Quadberry?

3. Where are the narrator and his passengers going in the story Rock Springs?

4. What is Michael working on when he sits at the kitchen table in the evenings?

5. What does Ad Magic give to the young boy with the performing monkey?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Hattie Benedict in Wickedness, and how does she survive the blizzard?

2. In Carol Bly's story "Talk of Heroes," who is Willi Varig?

3. In the story Wickedness, what happens in Nebraska on the twelfth of January, 1888? How does this affect the townspeople?

4. Who are the main characters in River of Names, and how are they different from each other?

5. Who is Petra in Ann Beattie's story "A Vintage Thunderbird"?

6. What picture do the narrator of Catherdraland Robert draw and why?

7. Where does Magic find the white horse, in what condition is the horse, and who does he call for help?

8. In the story The First Day, where are the mother and child going at the opening of the story? Why is this an important day?

9. How does the woman in The Darling meet Lenny?

10. What story does Edna tell the narrator of Rock Springs about her pet, a monkey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Fat Girl chronicles the story of a young woman with an eating disorder. How does Louise suffer at the hands of those who wish to help her? Discuss her relationships with her mother, her college roommate, and her husband in your essay.

Essay Topic 2

In the story Dog Heaven, the author has created two children and a dog who live in a work of adults involved in the military. The narrator therefore focuses the story on the elements of childhood most recognized by people growing up. Discuss three of those elements and how they help the reader to relate to the story and to the narrator as a child.

Essay Topic 3

What unusual literary device does Jamaica Kincaid use in her story Girl? Why and how does this device succeed in this piece?

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