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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Louise face one night at suppertime?
(a) the Ku Klux Klan.
(b) the Sheriff.
(c) her white neighbors.
(d) the Welfare Society.

2. Who is Sophia?
(a) Malcolm's white lover.
(b) Malcolm's fantasy girlfriend.
(c) Malcolm's sister.
(d) Malcolm's grandmother.

3. Who is Shorty referring to when he speaks about ofays?
(a) old folks.
(b) uppity black people.
(c) office workers.
(d) white people.

4. What does Malcolm say about Miss Stella who says she is with an old family?
(a) she cleans their toilets and cooks their food.
(b) she babysits their small children.
(c) she washes their windows every Saturday.
(d) she walks their dogs.

5. What method does Baldwin use to show flashbacks to Malcolm's early life?
(a) images in the rearview mirror.
(b) images on the car windshield.
(c) images in Malcolm's sun glasses.
(d) images in the windows of building.

6. Why is Malcolm not at the Lancing High School dance?
(a) because he can't dance.
(b) because he has no money.
(c) because he has no good clothes.
(d) because he is black.

7. Where does Louise tell little Malcolm he was born?
(a) Omaha.
(b) Atlanta.
(c) Cincinnati.
(d) Newark.

8. Why do the gathered crowd and the firemen all stand looking at the house burn down?
(a) they are all white.
(b) there are explosions going on inside the house.
(c) the fire is too hot to get near.
(d) the house is too far gone to save.

9. What job does Shorty teach Malcolm how to perform?
(a) becoming a pimp.
(b) selling daily newspapers.
(c) as a porter at the train station.
(d) men's room attendant at the Roseland Ballroom.

10. Why does Malcolm put a gun to his head and pull the trigger?
(a) to attempt suicide.
(b) to scare people into doing his will.
(c) to put on a show for his friends.
(d) to show he is not afraid to die.

11. How does Malcolm get away with entering a bar in the Negro Section of Lansing?
(a) because he is big for his age.
(b) because he works there.
(c) because no one sees him sneak in.
(d) because he knows the owner.

12. What is Louise's feeling about being light skinned?
(a) she feels superior to other blacks.
(b) she feels superior to Earl.
(c) she wishes she had married a white man.
(d) she wishes she were blacker than Earl.

13. Who is the fair, young mulatto woman hanging out clothes?
(a) Sophia, Malcolm's mistress.
(b) Daisy Little, Malcolm'sd grandmother.
(c) Louise Little, Malcolm's mother.
(d) Laura, Malcolm's one true love.

14. What discouraging thing does Mr. Ostrovski do to Malcolm?
(a) he tells him he cannot be Class President.
(b) he reports everything to the police.
(c) he reminds Malcolm that he is a black boy.
(d) he tells him he cannot become a lawyer.

15. What city had Laura never heard of?
(a) Lansing, Michigan.
(b) Detroit, Michigan.
(c) Marietta, Georgia.
(d) Hoboken, NJ.

Short Answer Questions

1. As a youth, what are Malcolm and Laura doing that gets the crowd roaring?

2. What is the evidence that Earl did not commit suicide?

3. What does Archie say about writing down numbers?

4. What is the first terrifying image from Malcolm's childhood?

5. What rule does Mrs. Swerlin say she got from her father and that she lives by?

(see the answer keys)

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