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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 "Black Matter(s)," Morrison speculates that slaves offered white Americans a sense of what?

2. "The War Against Error" is a fifteenth and sixteenth century effort to eliminate what kind of error?

3. What does Morrison say is a key reason for Western projections onto Africa?

4. In "Arts Advocacy," Morrison recounts discovering that a highly regarded artist vetoed funding for another artist for what reason?

5. In "Race Matters," Morrison creates a metaphorical comparison between "race-specific, race-free" language and what?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “The Foreigner’s Home,” what point is Morrison making with her discussion of The Radiance of the King?

2. In “Harlem on My Mind," what does Morrison point to as the causes of the failure of the New York Metropolitan Museum's 1968 exhibit on Harlem?

3. In “The Nobel Lecture in Literature," Morrison explains why oppressive language is a problem: what effects does she claim it has?

4. In “Black Matter(s)," what main points does Morrison make about the alleged race-neutrality of American history?

5. In “The Individual Artist," what is the paradox that Morrison says artists face?

6. In “Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.," what does Morrison say that she wonders about MLK, and why?

7. In “The Individual Artist," what does Morrison say is the unique value of the National Endowment for the Arts?

8. In “Race Matters," what story does Morrison tell about the ending of Beloved, and why does she tell this story?

9. In “Moral Inhabitants," Morrison opens with some U.S. Census statistics. What are they and why does she include them?

10. In “Race Matters," why does Morrison say that she decided she needed a "home" and not just a "house"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "Grendel and His Mother," Morrison explains why Grendel's interior life and motivations do not matter in the context of the original work but do matter to modern audiences. Why does she believe this has changed over time, and what does this change say about changes in Western civilization?

Essay Topic 2

In “Moral Inhabitants,” Morrison lists several “Great Men” from American history and describes their views on race. Explain how this list functions in the larger context of “Moral Inhabitants.” What is the purpose of the list, and how does it accomplish its aims?

Essay Topic 3

In "On Beloved," Morrison offers a metaphorical comparison between an image or piece of language and a key, and compares untraveled literary territory to an area locked behind a large locked door. Explain what she means by this comparison and how it relates to her writing of Beloved.

(see the answer keys)

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