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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who once said, "Which is the work in which he hasn't surrendered, under dire difficulty, the best thing he meant to have kept"?
(a) Annie Dillard.
(b) Henry James.
(c) William Shakespeare.
(d) William Faulkner.

2. How did Dillard get into the library in Roanoke late at night?
(a) She hid in the women's room when the door was locked.
(b) She had a key.
(c) The door was never locked.
(d) She climbed in through a window.

3. What does Dillard say that she found so appealing about a Danish aristocrat?
(a) His life of leisure.
(b) His title.
(c) His ability to relax.
(d) His daily schedule.

4. Dillard believes that some writers weaken their resolve to discard parts of their work. Why?
(a) The words have come to have a necessary quality.
(b) It is too much work.
(c) People have told them it is too good to discard.
(d) They believe every word they write is too important to discard.

5. Who does Dillard say that she believes to be one of the most prolific writers who has ever lived?
(a) William Shakespeare.
(b) Thomas Mann.
(c) James Patterson.
(d) Edgar Allen Poe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What book was Dillard working on in Roanoke, Virginia?

2. When a writer is stuck while writing a book, what does Dillard think he should do?

3. In the life of a Danish aristocrat mentioned in Chapter 2, what did he do for most of the day?

4. Saint-Pol-Roux used to hang what sign on his door while he slept?

5. Whose wife posed for the Liberty dime?

(see the answer key)

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