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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What part of the body does the "line of words" in Chapter 1 invade?
(a) The brain.
(b) The lungs.
(c) The heart.
(d) The soul.

2. To what does Dillard compare writing a book?
(a) A reality television show.
(b) Climbing a long ladder.
(c) Running a marathon.
(d) Learning to walk via crawling.

3. How long did it take William Faulkner to write "As I Lay Dying"?
(a) Six weeks.
(b) Ten years.
(c) Six months.
(d) Six years.

4. Who is the Danish aristocrat mentioned in Chapter 2?
(a) Osip Mandelstam.
(b) Wilhelm Dinesen.
(c) Wallace Stevens.
(d) Sverre Magnus.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Dillard say that she makes a pen drawing of in Chapter 2?

2. What had Dillard forgotten all about as she worked on a Fourth-of-July night?

3. What happened in Bridgeport, Connecticut one morning in April, 1987?

4. What is needed in the world more than another excellent manuscript, as far as Dillard is concerned?

5. What sport did Dillard play with a boys' music camp?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is 'the path' of the line of writing, as described in Chapter 1 by Dillard, not to be considered the actual work?

2. Why does Dillard say that she made a pen drawing of the scenes outside her library window?

3. When Dillard was working in the library at night, how did she find her way around in the dark?

4. How does Dillard describe the way in which a writer might start the process of writing a book?

5. How does Dillard say that she defines the meaning of schedules, in Chapter 2?

6. Why did a ritual slaughterer bid goodbye to his wife and children every morning as if it were his last, in Chapter 1?

7. What analogy does Dillard use to explain how a book leads its writer on?

8. Why does Dillard feel that an appealing workplace for a writer should be avoided?

9. When the cab driver in New York sang songs with Dillard, why did he sing one dull song twice?

10. What decision did Dillard make to finally shut herself off from all distractions at the library carrel?

(see the answer keys)

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