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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. Tolentino asserts that the internet tends to minimize the need for what type of action?

2. Tolentino asserts that engaging in the ridiculous goal of "figuring out how to 'get better' at being a woman" (64) will never bring what?

3. Which insect does Tolentino use to characterize early users of the internet?

4. Tolentino laments in "The I in Internet" the way in which womanhood can so often "feel like a story of loss of" (28) what?

5. Tolentino and her family were spending the day at what location when she tried out for the television show?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what work is the title of "Always Be Optimizing" referring and what is the significance of the allusion within the essay?

2. What is the main setting featured within the essay entitled "Reality TV Me"?

3. What does Tolentino mean when she states that "the ideal woman is always optimizing" (63)?

4. How does Tolentino characterize her adolescent self and for what purpose?

5. What psychological effect of the current incarnation of the world wide web does Tolentino find most dangerous and why?

6. Discuss an instance in the introduction when Tolentino uses a metaphor to illustrate a particular point.

7. In what way is Tolentino uniquely positioned to assess the trajectory of the internet, as she does in the essay "The I in Internet"?

8. What does the bioluminescent bay symbolize in the essay entitled "Reality TV Me"?

9. How does Tolentino contrast her real feelings about taking part in Girls vs. Boys: Puerto Rico with the impression she gave her family?

10. What is the source of the essay collection's title, Trick Mirror, according to Tolentino?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What message does Tolentino send within the pages of Trick Mirror concerning the link between privilege and delusion?

Essay Topic 2

How is the theme of courage treated within Trick Mirror and how does its treatment relate to the collection's depicted messages?

Essay Topic 3

What is Tolentino's overall message about the American identity within the collection Trick Mirror and what types of evidence does she use to prove the claim?

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