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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. What does Beloved do when Denver asks why she didn't cry?

2. What does Beloved say it is like where she comes from?

3. What does Sethe say Paul D is not allowed to do?

4. Why does Mrs. Garner laugh at Sethe?

5. Where does Paul D sleep after he is tired of sleeping in Baby Suggs' bed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Is Beloved falling apart like she says?

2. Is it significant that Denver looks after Beloved and not Sethe?

3. Why does Denver think that Beloved hates Paul D?

4. Why do you think Paul D is ready to accept the presence of a ghost in the house?

5. Why does Paul question his manhood?

6. Why do you think Mrs. Garner laughs at Sethe when she asks if she can have a proper wedding?

7. In what way does the seventh chapter show the horrors of slavery?

8. Why does Denver not want Sethe to undo her braids?

9. Why is Sethe angry at Paul D for casting the ghost out of her house?

10. Why do you think Denver is so jealous of Paul D's presence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paul D, Sethe, and Denver spend a day at the carnival set aside for black people. They enjoy it because they get to laugh at white people.

1) What would you think of white people if you were a black person during this time? Would you hide your feelings?

2) Think about if you were white. How difficult would it be to form a decent opinion of black people when society went out of its way to dehumanize them? Do you think white people's upbringings conditioned them to treat black people so badly?

Essay Topic 2

Sethe trying to kill her children was not unusual during this period. Discuss why black mothers would want to kill their children. If their lives were that bad, why were her sons so fearful of Sethe? Were these women not in their right minds at the time?

Essay Topic 3

Take one white character and one black character and compare their backgrounds and character goals. How does Morrison represent white characters? How does she represent the black characters? Do you think they are both accurate depictions?

(see the answer keys)

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