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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. Jack London maintained that every writer needs a technique, experience, and what else?
(a) A certain personality.
(b) An imagination.
(c) A philosophical position.
(d) A pen.

2. How long does the twilight linger on the island on Haro Strait in June and July?
(a) Until nine at night.
(b) Until seven p.m.
(c) Until nearly midnight.
(d) Until dawn.

3. What passage was Dillard working on in the cabin on Puget Sound while a northeaster was blowing?
(a) Christ's baptism in the bay in front of the house.
(b) A marble statue of a Greek funerary.
(c) A passage about a wild child.
(d) Rows of breaker waves resembling lines of writing.

4. What book was Dillard working on in Roanoke, Virginia?
(a) An American Childhood.
(b) Holy the Firm.
(c) Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
(d) Living by Fiction.

5. What do experienced writers urge young men and women to learn, according to Chapter 1?
(a) Shakesperian plays.
(b) Word definitions.
(c) A useful trade.
(d) How to spell.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does society regard the writer, in Dillard's experience?

2. What is the topic of an essay written by Dillard that she said she considers too obscure and too intellectual?

3. Which religious sect did Dillard read about in the Virginia library?

4. Thornton Wilder cited an unnamed writer of sonnets as saying only one line drops from where?

5. Why does it make more sense to write one big book rather than a collection of stories or essays, in Dillard's opinion?

(see the answer key)

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