View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which character teases Joe about his philandering wife before being chastised by other men in the story "Spunk"?
(a) Jordan.
(b) Elijah.
(c) Walter.
(d) Spunk.

2. What is the last name of Isis, the protagonist of the story "Drenched in Light"?
(a) Watts.
(b) Kanty.
(c) Potts.
(d) Johnson.

3. Which member of the family featured in "Drenched in Light" always does the dishes?
(a) Joel.
(b) Isis.
(c) Papa.
(d) Grandma.

4. Just before Spunk dies, he blames which character for causing his death?
(a) Elijah.
(b) Joe Kanty.
(c) Joe Clarke.
(d) Lena.

5. By what percentage does Jim and Mattie's business grow after Stella becomes their employee?
(a) 100.
(b) 75.
(c) 25.
(d) 50.

6. What term does the narrator of "Black Death" apply to white people?
(a) Oppressors.
(b) Nihilists.
(c) Allies.
(d) Materialists.

7. The narrator reveals that the people in Sam's community view him as a what?
(a) A gossip.
(b) A comedian.
(c) A fool.
(d) A psychologist.

8. Who is Mr. Bronner, in relation to Sam within the story "The Conversion of Sam"?
(a) His tutor.
(b) His godfather.
(c) His boss.
(d) His teacher.

9. In which season does the mother of Beau's lover confront him about the child he has conceived with her daughter?
(a) Summer.
(b) Fall.
(c) Spring.
(d) Winter.

10. Which character ultimately decides to allow John's body to float down the river once it is obvious that he is dead?
(a) Jackson.
(b) Matty.
(c) Alfred.
(d) Stella.

11. In what way is Alfred related to John?
(a) Father.
(b) Grandfather.
(c) Cousin.
(d) Uncle.

12. The opening and closing frames of the story "Magnolia Flower" consist of conversations between which two bodies of water?
(a) A river and a lake.
(b) A river and a pond.
(c) A river and a reservoir.
(d) A river and a brook.

13. In the story entitled "The Conversion of Sam," what type of establishment does Jim own with his wife Mattie?
(a) A brothel.
(b) A restaurant.
(c) A bookstore.
(d) A nightclub.

14. What gesture does Isis make that serves to "heap kindling on" her grandmother's "already burning ire" (75)?
(a) An eye-roll.
(b) A shrug.
(c) A smirk.
(d) A smile.

15. What objects does John like to place in the water near his home in order to pretend he is following them?
(a) Leaves.
(b) Paper boats.
(c) Crickets.
(d) Twigs.

Short Answer Questions

1. What action do Isis and her brother Joel plan to do to their maternal grandmother before she wakes up and stops them?

2. The boy at the center of the story "A Bit of Harlem" tells the young woman that he will come back on which holiday?

3. What kind of a pet does Sam have in the story "The Conversion of Sam"?

4. In which type of problematic behavior does the white woman at the end of "Drenched in Light" engage?

5. Before the discovery of a number of stories focused on urban environments, how many such stories by Zora Neale Hurston were previously thought to exist?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 460 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample