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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. In "Faulkner and Women," what effect does Morrison say Faulkner has had on her writing?
(a) Faulkner was the inspiration for Song of Solomon.
(b) She uses symbolism in a similar way.
(c) He provided an example of how to manipulate language.
(d) None.

2. In "Grendel and His Mother," what omission from Beowulf does Morrison say is significant?
(a) Grendel's relationship with his mother.
(b) The impact of Grendel's actions on the Danes.
(c) Grendel's motivation.
(d) The character of Grendel's father.

3. In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison recounts being asked how to teach one of her books when what was true?
(a) When the teacher is white.
(b) When students struggle to understand her language.
(c) When there were no CliffsNotes.
(d) When parents oppose the reading of her book.

4. In "The Trouble with Paradise," Morrison says she knows how whiteness "matures and ascends the throne of universalism." What is the best descriptor of this phrase?
(a) Morrison uses royal imagery to establish the legitimacy of white universalism.
(b) Morrison metaphorically compares whiteness to a royal leader and universalism to a kingdom.
(c) Morrison uses sibilance to suggest that whiteness is demonic.
(d) Morrison personifies whiteness in order to attribute dark motives to its actions.

5. In "Rememory," what does Morrison say causes her to rely on memory rather than history?
(a) History is a biased record.
(b) History isn't relevant to the topics she writes about.
(c) History is dull and lifeless.
(d) History is oriented toward the "male gaze."

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The Trouble with Paradise," Morrison says that writers must hold "an unblinking gaze into the realm of" what?

2. In "The Source of Self-Regard," what image does Morrison say she uses to convey the horrors of slavery?

3. In "Grendel and His Mother," Morrison notes the significance of what characteristic of Grendel's mother?

4. In "Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," what element does Morrison say is an aspect of the European American response to chaos lacking in the indigenous response?

5. In "Academic Whispers," Morrison says that interview requests used to make her feel like she was being used as what?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to “The Writer Before the Page," what is the relationship between Hannah Peace and Sula?

2. In “Unspeakable Things Unspoken," who does Morrison credit with opening up the canon, and how would she like to see it further expanded?

3. In “The Trouble with Paradise," what does Morrison mean when she says that fiction writers have to stare unblinking into the "realm of difference"?

4. In “Introduction of Peter Sellars," what are the main points of Morrison's praise for Peter Sellars as an artist?

5. In “Tribute to Romare Bearden," Morrison praises Bearden's work as a dialogue between artists; how does she see his work impacting her own?

6. In “James Baldwin Eulogy,” Morrison explains that Baldwin brought "three gifts." What is this an allusion to, and how does it function in this piece?

7. In “The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison describe as some of the contradictions that jazz contains?

8. According to “The Writer Before the Page," why does Morrison use allusions to folktales in her writing?

9. In “Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," what confuses Morrison about Stein's portrayal of Rose?

10. In “The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison say made her uncomfortable about the letters she received from students, and why did it make her feel this way?

(see the answer keys)

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