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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does the Reverend Barbee trip over Dr. Bledsoe?
(a) Dr. Bledsoe forgets to pull his legs back
(b) Reverend Barbee is blind.
(c) Reverend Barbee isn't watching where he is going.
(d) Someone distracts Reverend Barbee

2. What truth does the vet tell to the narrator that the narrator does not yet understand?
(a) That the white men are trying to destroy him
(b) That he should not be afraid of white men
(c) That he is invisible
(d) That he is doomed to failure

3. Which of the following two concepts, in combination, does Ellison see as a "raft of hope."
(a) art and democracy
(b) democracy and truth
(c) compassion and equality
(d) equality and art

4. Why does the narrator have difficulty getting along on his first two jobs?
(a) He doesn't understand or fit in the blue-collar/union world
(b) He is the only black person on the job
(c) He is too highly educated for the job
(d) He is not correctly educated for the job

5. What kind of speeches has the narrator given from the stage in the chapel?
(a) Speeches that flattered the whites.
(b) Phony speeches with notes supplied by white men.
(c) Speeches that expressed his frustration in cultural symbolism.
(d) Genuine speeches that expressed how he felt.

6. What does the narrator want to do in Chapter 12?
(a) get a new job
(b) marry Mary Rambo
(c) make speeches
(d) spend time alone

7. Ellison's original story was written about which of the following?
(a) A slave
(b) An African American author
(c) An African American pilot
(d) A sharecropper

8. According to Ellison, for what have African Americans historically had to fight?
(a) The right for fair employment
(b) The right to fight
(c) Their freedoms
(d) The right for education

9. What does the moon symbolize?
(a) Intellectual vision that is defective
(b) An eye that sees only what it chooses.
(c) The vision of those in power.
(d) The eye of God

10. What is the narrator's explanation for taking Mr. Norton to the Golden Day?
(a) Mr. Norton was driving
(b) The car was out of gas.
(c) He thought he could get medical help there
(d) Mr. Norton ordered him to go there

11. How does the vet react when Mr. Norton tries to explain his interest in the college?
(a) The vet accuses Mr. Norton of deception.
(b) The vet accuses Mr. Norton of ulterior motives.
(c) The vet mocks Mr. Norton.
(d) The vet praises Mr. Norton.

12. What does the cord in chapter 11 symbolize?
(a) separation
(b) loss
(c) rebirth
(d) isolation

13. Where was the novel written?
(a) Harlem
(b) New York
(c) Vermont
(d) Georgia

14. Why does the narrator feel disillusioned when looking at the picture of the Founder?
(a) He realizes that Mr. Norton is the one with the power.
(b) He understands that Mr. Norton is going to expel him.
(c) He realizes that he really has no hope of obtaining any power.
(d) He realizes that Bledsoe is going to abuse his power.

15. The narrator considers himself an invisible man because ____________________.
(a) people can't see him
(b) people subconsciously ignore him
(c) people don't understand him
(d) people refuse to see him with their inner eyes

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the narrator dump slush on a man's head?

2. According to the vet, who controls "things"?

3. What does the narrator lack in Chapter 12?

4. Why is the narrator initially concerned about finding work as soon as possible?

5. Where does the narrator find himself in chapter 11?

(see the answer keys)

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