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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. When Delia sees the snake's fangs, she does not run away like usual, nor does she do what with her eyes as she has done in the past?
(a) Dart them.
(b) Avert them.
(c) Roll them.
(d) Close them.

2. When Sykes says that one reason he caught the snake easily was because it had just had a meal, what does he say it had just eaten?
(a) Frogs.
(b) Toads.
(c) Rats.
(d) Lizards.

3. When Delia says that Sykes can lie with Bertha as much as he wants, what condition does she put on her assent?
(a) That Bertha stay away from her house.
(b) That Sykes fix the barn roof.
(c) That Sykes get rid of the snake.
(d) That Sykes leave her house.

4. Who first entreats Joe to bring a melon from the store and to slice it up for the men?
(a) Old Man Anderson.
(b) Elijah.
(c) Joe Lindsay.
(d) Joe Clarke.

5. In what town does Delia attend church at the time Sykes is keeping the rattlesnake?
(a) Eatonville.
(b) Apalachicola.
(c) Orlando.
(d) Woodbridge.

Short Answer Questions

1. What verb is used to indicate the manner in which Delia goes underneath Sykes's arm when he is blocking the doorway?

2. To what town does Sykes often take Bertha so they can participate in stomps?

3. What skill does Sykes learn from a Northern white woman?

4. What two activities does the narrator say that Delia and Sykes now do in silence since their complete impasse?

5. What reason does Sykes provide for his conclusion that the snake would never bite him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which elements of Bertha's character are disparaged by the group of men at Joe Clarke's store once she leaves with Sykes?

2. What does Delia say is different about Bertha in comparison to other women with whom Sykes has had affairs?

3. How do Delia's actions and feelings in regard to the rattlesnake change once she sees its fangs wrapped around the wire mesh of its box?

4. What is Delia's reason for not trying to get rid of Bertha in some way in order to solve the problems in her marriage?

5. What argumentative method does Delia use in order to convince Sykes that he needs to take the snake away from her home?

6. How does the snake's behavior change once it has taken two or three days to digest its large meal of frogs?

7. How does Delia try "to be blind and deaf" (5) to Sykes's gallivanting around town with Bertha?

8. How does the author demonstrate the village's viewpoint regarding Sykes's keeping of the rattlesnake?

9. What causes a "determined silence" (4) to fall over the porch when the men are about to slice the watermelon?

10. How does Delia react once Sykes both refuses to remove the rattlesnake and threatens to beat her?

(see the answer keys)

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