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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 kind of dress does Dee wear to her graduation?

2. How does Ms. Johnson describe Maggie's fiance?

3. How does Ms. Johnson feel about Wangero's new name?

4. What does Wangero plan to do with the quilts?

5. At the end of the story, what quilts does Ms. Johnson tell Dee to take back to the city with her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What other folk art is mentioned in "Everyday Use" besides quilting?

2. What kind of life has Ms. Johnson lived?

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

4. Explain Dee's feelings about white people.

5. Is there any significance to the fact that neither Ms. Johnson's marital state nor Dee's are revealed in "Everyday Use?"

6. What happened to the Johnsons' previous home and how has this tragedy affected the family?

7. Are the Johnsons in "Everyday Use" typical or atypical for rural southern Black families living in the era in which the story is set?

8. Describe the Johnson family home.

9. Which Johnson sister knows how to quilt and what does her ability illustrate about her character?

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

Compare and contrast the way the characters in "Everyday Use" think of white people and interact with them. Give at least three examples from the text to illustrate your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

"Everyday Use" was published in 1973 and the characters have lived through the growth of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Discuss how the geographical, chronological and cultural settings affect the story and how the characters and story might differ if Alice Walker had set it in the north or during the antebellum era instead. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

The Johnson family's quilts are a recurring motif throughout "Everyday Use." Cite three examples from the text of the use of this motif and discuss what you think it represents in each example.

(see the answer keys)

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