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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. The best time Faunia and Lester had together was when they were arguing and ended up _____________.
(a) Kissing.
(b) Making love in the hay.
(c) Breaking the stable horse.
(d) Throwing manure at each other.

2. Where has Lester Farley already tried to get help after his service in the military?
(a) VA.
(b) A shrink.
(c) AARP.
(d) His family doctor.

3. ____________ was also an abstract painter and a poet.
(a) Iris.
(b) Coleman.
(c) Faunia.
(d) Nathan.

4. Who is Coleman with when he runs into Steena six years after their first love affair?
(a) No one.
(b) Iris.
(c) Amanda.
(d) Ellie.

5. Doc Chizner tells Coleman not to tell the coach that he is __________ as this might hurt Coleman's chances of the scholarship.
(a) Inexperienced.
(b) Black.
(c) Jewish.
(d) A boxer.

Short Answer Questions

1. Coleman is a __________ skinned Jew, according to his own description.

2. At what college did Coleman Silk teach before his hasty departure from the college?

3. On the day she died, Iris was in perfect health aside from a __________ that would not leave her alone.

4. Coleman thinks the Iris has the wildest _____________ of anyone he has seen.

5. What is the favorite piece of literature of Coleman's father, according to the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Coleman's religious background and why is this an important detail to note?

2. How does Coleman reveal his family secret to the woman he loves while he's in college?

3. What is the current and past status of Coleman Silk's employment in this novel?

4. What does Coleman do after his father dies when he is a student at Howard?

5. Why did Coleman and Iris marry if they were complete opposites without passion for each other?

6. What does Ellie do when Coleman reveals to her his racial background?

7. What does Coleman want to do with his life at first when he is out of the military and back in New York?

8. What makes Iris a strong woman, according to the descriptions in the book?

9. What does Coleman Silk confess to his neighbor when he is 71 years of age?

10. What happened on the day that Nathan found Coleman in only his shorts?

(see the answer keys)

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