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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. Dillard refers to writing as changing "..from an expression of your notions to an epistemological tool." What does epistemological mean?
(a) A philosophy concerned with the nature and origin of knowledge.
(b) Surgical incision of the perineum during childbirth.
(c) Greek knowledge.
(d) Bacterial DNA that is extrachromosomal.

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

3. Which religious sect did Dillard read about in the Virginia library?
(a) Catholicism.
(b) Hasidism.
(c) Islam.
(d) Hinduism.

4. According to Dillard, what kind of life is a life of sensation?
(a) A good life.
(b) A life of spirit.
(c) A life of greed.
(d) A life spent reading.

5. According to Dillard, how do painters work as opposed to writers?
(a) Painters work on a blank canvas, writers on a computer.
(b) Painters work with color, writers with black and white.
(c) Painters work from the ground up, writers from left to right.
(d) Painters work with their hands, writers with their heads.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Dillard get into the library in Roanoke late at night?

2. What do experienced writers urge young men and women to learn, according to Chapter 1?

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

4. In Dillard's thoughts, what words stopped Rebbe Shmelke from hearing his teacher?

5. How long does it generally take to write a book?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How is the line of Dillard's words likened to a hammer in Chapter 1?

4. What is the most appealing schedule that Dillard says she knows?

5. How does Dillard describe the line of words as being one's own heart?

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

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

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

9. Why does Dillard believe a writer often wants to refrain from throwing away the beginnings of the work she has created?

10. What is the meaning of Thoreau's note that "The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or perchance a palace or temple on the earth, and at length the middle-aged man concludes to build a wood-shed with them"?

(see the answer keys)

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