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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. In "Café Mort," what occupies the attention of the "beige woman"?
2. On page 108 of "Boston Common at Twilight," what causes Ned to feel "something hot and terrible rush through him"?
3. In "While It Lasts," what does Bonnie think is Isabel's problem with finding love?
4. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what has changed in Ned's thinking about his mother as he has gotten older?
5. According to "Why I Don't Write," what is the problem with making donations?
Short Essay Questions
1. In "Café Mort," why would some of the waitresses be "proud" of their jobs (89)?
2. What question begins "Why I Don't Write," and how is this question related to the rest of the story?
3. In "While It Lasts," why does Bonnie think that George is a particularly good match for her?
4. 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?
5. In "Café Mort," what does the narrator need to rid herself of before she can leave the café?
6. In the second paragraph of "Why I Don't Write," what is the implication of the list following the phrase "then it all stops" (65)?
7. In "Café Mort," why does the narrator say that the stream of advice coming from the patrons is "either instructive or ironic, depending on your perspective" (93)?
8. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what television show does Ned secretly watch? Why does he enjoy it?
9. In "Why I Don't Write," what types of repetition are used in the page 69 paragraph "Cleaning out the closets. Cleaning out the drawers. Clearing out the basement," and what effect does the device create?
10. In "Boston Common at Twilight," what is implied by the last section of the story, that takes place as Ned grows into adulthood?
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
Many of the stories in Why I Don't Write are concerned with time: the past intrudes on the present, time expands and contracts around the characters. Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the role of time in Minot's collection. Use evidence from at least three stories to support your claims.
Essay Topic 3
The collection Why I Write contains stories that are traditional and stories that are more experimental. Write an essay that categorizes the stories as one or the other and then takes and defends a stance about which type of stories are more successful for Minot. Be sure to use textual evidence to support your ideas.
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This section contains 1,086 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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