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

2. When was the introduction of the novel written?
(a) 30 years after the text itself
(b) Sporadically during the writing of the story
(c) Immediately after finishing the story.
(d) Before the text of the story

3. What does the narrator lack in Chapter 12?
(a) his interest in returning to college
(b) money to live on
(c) motivation to keep going
(d) A sense of direction

4. The narrator's need to give speeches is an example of what literary device?
(a) suspense
(b) foreshadowing
(c) audio imagery
(d) irony

5. How did the narrator get invited to participate in the Battle Royal?
(a) He thought it was part of the award.
(b) He happened to be at the hotel to give a speech to white men.
(c) The people who arranged the speech planned to include him.
(d) He volunteered because it looked interesting.

Short Answer Questions

1. What had Mr. Trueblood done prior to his disgrace?

2. According to the vet, what does a white woman symbolize?

3. What does Dr. Bledsoe call the narrator?

4. What does Mr. Norton give to Trueblood?

5. What does the doctor mean when he says they "picked poor robin clean"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mr. Norton give Jim Trueblood $100?

2. Why is Harlem a particularly appropriate setting for the novel?

3. Why is important to know that the introduction was written 30 years after the novel itself?

4. What does the veteran at the Golden Day understand that the narrator does not?

5. Why does the drug store have the pork chop and grits special?

6. What does the narrator notice while waiting for his appointment with the trustees?

7. What does Dr. Bledsoe mean by "acting the nigger."

8. What does Ellison mean by "benign neglect"?

9. What final action does the hospital take to ensure the narrator's silence?

10. What does Mary Rambo want the narrator to do?

(see the answer keys)

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