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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. Who does Dee say she will never bring to visit her family's home?

2. What scrap of Great Grandpa Ezra's clothing is in the quilts?

3. What does Maggie wear for Dee's arrival in "Everyday Use"?

4. How many characters in "Everyday Use" own cars?

5. Who learns to quilt from Grandma Dee and Aunt Dicie/Big Dee?

Short Essay Questions

1. What level of education does Dee have and how does it differ from the educational levels of her mother and sister?

2. What does Ms. Johnson think Maggie believes is her "portion" in life?

3. Explain how Ms. Johnson looks in real life and how her actual appearance differs from how she appears in her dreams.

4. What does Hakim-a-barber's car indicate about his character and Dee's?

5. What is the history behind Dee's birth name?

6. What is Ms. Johnson's relationship with her daughter Dee like?

7. To whom is Dee referring when she says "It's really a new day for us" at the end of the story?

8. Explain the difference in what Dee wants to use her mother's quilts and the way Maggie wants to use the quilts.

9. Why doesn't Ms. Johnson have more formal education?

10. Why does Ms. Johnson prefer that the hand-stitched quilts go to Maggie instead of Dee?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the references to church and religion in "Everyday Use." Give at least three examples of how religion is used in the text. What do you think Alice Walker is saying about the influence of religion on southern Black culture and on African American culture in general?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the following characters either defy or define stereotypes of Black women living in the rural south: Dee/Wangero, Ms. Johnson, Grandma Dee, and Maggie. Are their backgrounds and character traits typical or atypical of the stereotype of Black women living in the rural south in the 1960s? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of Hakim-a-barber and how he illustrates Black Muslim culture in the story. What do you think Alice Walker is saying about Black Muslims through him? Cite examples from the text to support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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