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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. Why is Easy unhappy about going to Santa Monica at night in Chapter 8?

2. Easy recalls in Chapter 14 that the first time his inner voice spoke to him during the war, it suggested that he kill a sniper with what?

3. Which of the guards at Mr. Albright’s office is described as dark-skinned, like an East Indian, in Chapter 3?

4. Easy recognizes Matthew Teran from where in Chapter 11?

5. How much money does Mr. Albright give to Easy in Chapter 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the character of Mouse represent symbolically in Devil in a Blue Dress?

2. How is Daphne Monet’s home described in Chapter 13? What is symbolic about Daphne’s interior design?

3. Who is the “door person” at John’s Place? What does Easy learn from this character in Chapter 4?

4. What do the police question Easy about in Chapter 10? How does Easy respond?

5. What is the primary setting of Devil in a Blue Dress? How does the author depict this setting?

6. What is revealed in Mouse’s letter to Easy in Chapter 7? How does Easy respond to the letter?

7. What conflict takes place at the Santa Monica pier in Chapter 8?

8. How are the two policemen described that Easy encounters in Chapter 10?

9. What does Easy’s “inner voice” advise him to do in Chapter 14?

10. What Biblical allusion can be seen in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the theme of morality in Devil in a Blue Dress. Do you think that Easy Rawlins is a morally upstanding character? Why or why not? How do Easy’s actions in Chapter 6 illustrate his willingness to cross the lines of morality?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of race as applied to the characters of the first, second, and third guards that Easy Rawlins encounters at the office of DeWitt Albright. How does Easy respond differently to each “authority figure” based on skin color and ethnicity? What does this say about Easy’s character?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the characters of Maxim Baxter and Todd Carter in Devil in a Blue Dress. How does Easy relate to each of these characters? What makes Easy believe that Todd Carter is not a danger to Daphne Monet? Do you agree with his assessment? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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