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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapters 4, 5 and 6.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Dillard say that she thinks an artist supposes a live image to possess?
(a) Some technique stolen from him.
(b) A confused set of lines.
(c) Something he should pretend to know.
(d) A secret to be discovered.

2. Who watched Dillard chop wood every morning in Washington?
(a) Holly and Frederick.
(b) Doe and Bob.
(c) Small animals.
(d) Conrad and Brian.

3. What does Dillard say shocked her as she remembered a formal lunch with a publishing colleague in Chapter 2?
(a) The sexist terms the man used.
(b) The fanaticism of her twenties.
(c) Her lack of entertaining people.
(d) Her plants dying.

4. In the life of a Danish aristocrat mentioned in Chapter 2, what did he do for most of the day?
(a) Swam.
(b) Ate.
(c) Napped.
(d) Hunted.

5. What does Dillard have to say about appealing workplaces for writing?
(a) Avoid drabness at all costs.
(b) Bright yellow paint on the walls is best.
(c) They are to be avoided.
(d) The lovelier the scenery, the better.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Dillard notice most in the Washington cabin she wrote in?

2. What body of water did Dillard write near in Washington State?

3. What does Dillard say that she believes a writer should aim for when writing?

4. Finish this West African proverb from Chapter 2: "The beginning of wisdom is.."

5. How did a well-known writer respond to a student in Chapter 5 who asked if he could be a writer?

(see the answer key)

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