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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The unnamed narrator reflects in Los Angeles, 2011 that "every confidence is a kind of" (65) what?

2. Artemisia's advice to the unnamed narrator was that children crave what?

3. What element does the unnamed narrator NOT include within her definition of female pain?

4. The tenant described disliking her acquaintance because she had retained what quality throughout her first few college years?

5. When Laura got a new job in California and her husband Dylan did not want to move, what did they do?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the outcome of the tenant's story in the section entitled Ann Arbor, 2002?

2. What was the subject of the Swedish artist's creations, according to the unnnamed narrator?

3. How does the unnamed narrator feel about the truth and lies, according to her statements in Los Angeles, 2011?

4. How does the unnamed narrator feel about society's understanding of "the woman as object" versus "the woman as subject" (45)?

5. What information about the unnamed narrator's romantic life does the reader learn in Italy, 2000?

6. How does the unnamed narrator explain her impulse to kiss Artemisia near the end of the section called Italy, 2000?

7. What distinction does the unnamed narrator make between "the woman as object" and "the woman as subject" (45)?

8. What is the main setting featured within the section entitled San Francisco, 2010?

9. Describe the type of humor Popkey often uses within Topics of Conversation and provide an example.

10. How did the unnamed narrator feel about the dissolution of Laura's marriage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the final passages in Topics of Conversation and one of the novel's main messages. How does Popkey make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Popkey's messages about motherhood within the text Topics of Conversation.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the instances of irony within the narrative of Topics of Conversation and analyze Popkey’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

(see the answer keys)

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