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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. What was NOT an element about which Tolentino was excited when her family got a new computer during spring break?

2. Which disease did Tolentino contract during her stint in the Peace Corps?

3. What food item does Tolentino use as a metaphor for the workaholic lifestyle?

4. The first line of the essay "Always Be Optimizing" states that "the ideal woman has always been" (62) what?

5. The first line of the essay "The I in Internet" states, "In the beginning the internet seemed" (7) what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What element does Tolentino characterize as "capitalism's last natural resource" (11) in the essay entitled "The I in Internet"?

2. What end product does Tolentino name as the consistent result of trying to become better at being a woman or "of learning to get better at life under accelerated capitalism" (65)?

3. What is the symbolism of the exclamation points Tolentino uses within the essay entitled "The I in Internet"?

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

5. Name a piece of evidence Tolentino uses to support her claims about the misogynistic qualities of the now-defunct online community called 4Chan.

6. How many essays are contained within Trick Mirror and around what theme do they all revolve?

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

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

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

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

Tolentino introduces many historical references in the book, from the bank bailouts of the Great Recession to the rise of social media. What do these references add to the text? How do they expand the universality or specificity of its themes?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Tolentino's messages about motherhood and wifedom within the text Trick Mirror.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how and why Tolentino instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of Trick Mirror.

(see the answer keys)

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