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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which unpaid bill leads Mr. Bronner to fire Sam?
(a) Milk delivery.
(b) Water.
(c) Electricity.
(d) Rent.

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?
(a) Christmas Eve.
(b) Christmas Day.
(c) Halloween.
(d) Easter.

3. Which type of wood is NOT mentioned when Isis watches her grandmother gathering a collection of switches?
(a) Peach.
(b) Guana.
(c) Apple.
(d) Cherry.

4. Which group holds a carnival attended by Isis in the story "Drenched in Light"?
(a) The Odd Fellows.
(b) The Elks.
(c) The Moose.
(d) The Sons of Norway.

5. Sam does NOT decide to acquire which item when he becomes determined to win Stella's favor?
(a) A shave.
(b) A haircut.
(c) A car.
(d) A new suit.

Short Answer Questions

1. The jawbone of what type of animal figures into the storyline of "The Bone of Contention"?

2. 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?

3. What is NOT something Sam loses each night when he stays out gambling?

4. Which member of the family featured in "Drenched in Light" always does the dishes?

5. In what year was Zora Neale Hurston's famous novel Their Eyes Were Watching God published?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the end of Bentley's life.

2. In what way is Hurston a bit of an anomaly within the literary movement with which she is associated?

3. How does Joe Kanty meet his end in the story entitled "Spunk"?

4. What is the symbolism of the tablecloth featured in the story "Drenched in Light"?

5. With which literary movement is Zora Neale Hurston most closely associated and why?

6. According to Genevieve West, what conclusion did scholars come to regarding the story "Muttsy," prior to the discovery of the eight other stories contained within the collection Hitting a Straight a Lick With a Crooked Stick?

7. What does Spunk's Stetson hat represent within the story entitled "Spunk"?

8. For what reason does John leave the house during a storm in the story entitled "John Redding Goes to Sea"?

9. What contrast between the white culture and the black culture does Hurston highlight within the opening of "Black Death"?

10. Describe the way in which the definition of courage is called into question within the story "Spunk."

(see the answer keys)

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