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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is true about the narrator's position within the Brotherhood?
(a) He is an accepted leader
(b) He is secretly admired
(c) He is actually powerless
(d) He has earned a lot of respect and status

2. The narrator wants Clifton's funeral to focus on which of the following?
(a) what his loss will mean to the Brotherhood
(b) The meaning of his life
(c) His accomplishments as part of the Brotherhood
(d) The acts that led to his death

3. How does the narrator plan to overcome the white men of the Brotherhood?
(a) by helping his own group take over the leadership positions
(b) by parting company with them
(c) by appearing to agree with them
(d) by standing up to them

4. What awakens the narrator in Chapter 15?
(a) The smell of breakfast cooking.
(b) The sound of people talking.
(c) Someone pounding at the door.
(d) People banging on the steam line because there is no heat.

5. What kind of day is it on the day of Clifton's funeral?
(a) warm and exhilarating
(b) Cold and rainy
(c) Cold and windy
(d) Hot and humid

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator notice at the funeral that he would like to exploit?

2. Of what do the men in the bar in Chapter 20 accuse the narrator?

3. What surprises the narrator in relation to the riot?

4. The narrator becomes dizzy at the thought that true saviors might actually be where?

5. What apparent warning meets the narrator upon his return to Harlem

Short Essay Questions

1. Brother Jack refers to Clifton as Brutus? How does the metaphor fit the situation?

2. Explain the irony of the figurine owned by Mary.

3. How do we know at this point that the lobotomy has not been completely successful in changing the narrator's personality?

4. What strikes the narrator as the profound truth about the riot?

5. Why does the lady on the street become angry when he tries to put the figurine in the trash can?

6. Describe one of the roles played by Rinehart.

7. Why does Jack become angry with the man who asks the narrator to sing a "spiritual"?

8. In what way could the new shoes be symbolic?

9. What is the significance of the black thread that controls the dancing doll?

10. Why is the narrator's work on the "woman question" cut short?

(see the answer keys)

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