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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. On page 66 of "Why I Don't Write," what is ironic about the diagnosis of the computer problem "Your system must be overloaded"?

2. In "Café Mort," how did Karen's little brother die?

3. In "Why I Don't Write," what family member does the narrator have a conflict with?

4. On page 66 of "Why I Don't Write," what is the subject of the only article the narrator reads all the way through?

5. In "While It Lasts," what does Bonnie find so compelling about George?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Boston Common at Twilight," why does Ned end up taking an earlier train than usual, and how does this matter to the story's plot?

2. At the end of "While It Lasts," what does Bonnie realize about her relationship?

3. In "Why I Don't Write," what is the rhetorical purpose of the images of people looking at their phones?

4. In "While It Lasts," why does Bonnie think that George is a particularly good match for her?

5. In "Café Mort," what does her experience at the café teach the narrator about being "lucky" in life?

6. In "Café Mort," what does the narrator mean when, on page 89, she says "It's always an endless night"?

7. In "Why I Don't Write," what is the page 69 phrase "The thumping far below the floor" an allusion to, and what is its thematic significance?

8. In "Café Mort," what evidence is there that the narrator is ready to leave her grief behind even before Anita speaks to her?

9. In "Café Mort," what does the narrator need to rid herself of before she can leave the café?

10. What question begins "Why I Don't Write," and how is this question related to the rest of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the significance of the setting in "Polepole." Use textual evidence to support your ideas; if you use outside sources, be sure to cite them in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about the "plant" names "Ivy" and "Daisy" in "Occupied" and "Polepole." Why are both women given "plant" names? In what way do the two names differ, and how does this highlight differences in the two characters? Support your ideas with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Minot uses fragmentation in both "Listen" and "Why I Don't Write." Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the significance of this technique in these two stories. You might choose to write about similarities, differences, or some combination of the two, as long as your essay clearly makes an argument about both pieces and how fragmentation supports meaning in both.

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