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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 "While It Lasts," who is hosting the dinner party?

2. In "While It Lasts," what has Bonnie found a "newfound satisfaction" in (81)?

3. In "Boston Common at Twilight," how many times has Ned seen his father since his father broke the news about his separation from their mother?

4. In "Café Mort," what occupies the attention of the "beige woman"?

5. In "While It Lasts," whose owns the apartment where the party is held?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. 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?

3. In "While It Lasts," what does Isabel want from Bonnie, and why?

4. In "While It Lasts," how does the knapsack embody George's personality?

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. 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"?

8. In "Café Mort," why would some of the waitresses be "proud" of their jobs (89)?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you analyze the theme of "The Torch." Use textual evidence drawn from more than plot alone to support your claim.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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