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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 84 of "While It Lasts," what does Mr. Buffy tell Bonnie and George about love?
2. In "Café Mort," what were the Russian dancer's dances about when she was alive?
3. In "While It Lasts," why do George and Bonnie not stop for a drink with her brother after the movie?
4. In "Why I Don't Write," what family member does the narrator have a conflict with?
5. On page 75 of "Why I Don't Write," the exclamation point in "Passing a man who holds your gaze!" is likely meant to convey what emotions?
Short Essay Questions
1. In "While It Lasts," how does the knapsack embody George's personality?
2. At the end of "While It Lasts," what does Bonnie realize about her relationship?
3. 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?
4. On page 73 of "Why I Don't Write," what is the effect of the single word change from "I don't read it anymore" to the later item "I don't read anymore"?
5. In "While It Lasts," what is Isabel's main complaint about Richard, and what does she think is the cause of the problem?
6. In "Café Mort," what does the narrator mean when, on page 89, she says "It's always an endless night"?
7. In "Café Mort," what does her experience at the café teach the narrator about being "lucky" in life?
8. 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?
9. In "While It Lasts," why does Bonnie think that George is a particularly good match for her?
10. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what alternative place to stay is available to Ned, and why does he prefer to stay with his aunt?
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 "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 2
Some critics point out that Minot's writing appears to come from a place of privilege that marginalizes characters and concerns from outside of white, hetero-normative, middle- and upper-class society. Write an essay that responds in some way to this concern. You may affirm the idea, refute it, or qualify it. Support your ideas with textual evidence; if you use outside sources, cite them in MLA format.
Essay Topic 3
The significance of borders is always in question in Why I Don't Write: characters feel themselves dissolving or dissociate from their bodies, people struggle to keep the past from intruding on the present, and the boundaries between cultures and the living and the dead are not as clear-cut as we might ordinarily think them to be. Write an essay that takes and defends a position about borders in Minot's collection. Use evidence from at least three stories to support your claims.
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This section contains 1,146 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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