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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Of what does the vet accuse Mr. Norton?
(a) Of practicing racial prejudice
(b) Of treating the blacks like impersonal conquests
(c) Of failing to accomplish his mission for the college
(d) Of treating the blacks unfairly

2. In addition to his memories, what else has the narrator lost?
(a) his cash
(b) his motivation
(c) his strength
(d) his fear

3. Why is Brockway hostile toward the narrator?
(a) He thinks the narrator is there to take his job.
(b) The narrator has difficulty following instructions.
(c) The narrator approaches him with a bad attitude.
(d) He has heard of the narrator's mistake.

4. How does the narrator regard Mr. Bledsoe?
(a) As a protector
(b) As a role model.
(c) As an unpredictable element
(d) As an enemy

5. The concept of the character as invisible is symbolic of which of the following conditions?
(a) The character does not understand the truth of his situation.
(b) The character has deliberately denied his true place in society.
(c) Whites are morally blind to the checks and balances imposed on the African Americans.
(d) There are so many people like the hero that no one notices them.

6. What had Mr. Trueblood done prior to his disgrace?
(a) He was a guest lecturer
(b) He was a special singer at the college.
(c) He was an employee of the college.
(d) He had been involved in tutoring the black students.

7. What does the narrator discuss with the woman in his dream?
(a) racism
(b) fear
(c) responsibility
(d) freedom

8. The veteran doctor claims to have been beaten for what?
(a) returning to the states
(b) saving a life
(c) getting drunk
(d) failing to fulfil his duty

9. Who else is on the bus to New York?
(a) Mr. Trueblood
(b) another student
(c) the veteran doctor
(d) no one

10. Where does the narrator find himself in chapter 11?
(a) a mental ward
(b) the factory hospital
(c) a hospital
(d) a prison

11. What would the narrator like to add to his "hole"?
(a) a phonograph player
(b) a TV set
(c) a kitchen
(d) four more radio-phonographs

12. Why does Mary Rambo want to take the narrator home?
(a) She is in love with him
(b) To take advantage of him
(c) She needs the company
(d) To take care of him

13. According to Mr. Brockway, what happened when the company tried to replace him?
(a) The other workers went on strike
(b) The union went to bat for him.
(c) All the paint went bad
(d) No one else would take the job

14. What is the vet's final advice to the narrator?
(a) Stay away from people like Mr. Norton
(b) Watch for opportunities to get close to people like Norton
(c) Find ways to manipulate people like Norton
(d) Defy people like Norton

15. How does the narrator describe the students as they enter the chapel?
(a) They enter the chapel with resentment and fear.
(b) They enter the chapel joyfully.
(c) They enter with the love a captured people has for their conquerors.
(d) They enter with dread and hesitation.

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator's need to give speeches is an example of what literary device?

2. The main conflict of Ellison's original story revolves around

3. Why does the narrator have difficulty getting along on his first two jobs?

4. According to Reverend Barbee, why does Dr. Bledsoe enjoy a position of apparent power?

5. What does the narrator fear is the reason for his inability to get an appointment with the trustees?

(see the answer keys)

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