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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the 1917 parade protesting?
(a) Abortion.
(b) Child abuse.
(c) Desegregation.
(d) The St. Louis race riots.

2. Who adopts Joe at birth?
(a) True Belle.
(b) Rhoda and Frank Williams.
(c) Violet's parents.
(d) Rose Dear.

3. Why doesn't a fire truck intervene during the house fire in Dorcas's home?
(a) It is broken down.
(b) It is out of gas.
(c) All the firemen are on strike.
(d) It is waiting for a fire in a white neighborhood.

4. What does Joe take with him to the park?
(a) A picture of Dorcas.
(b) A sandwich and his gun.
(c) His walking cane.
(d) His sample case of cosmetics.

5. How much does Joe pay for the bedroom he and Dorcas meet in?
(a) Five dollars an hour.
(b) Nothing.
(c) Two dollars a month.
(d) He trades handiwork for the use of the bedroom.

6. What does the author suppose Violet does while Joe is looking out the window and crying?
(a) Put her arms around him and comfort him.
(b) Cook breakfast for him.
(c) Set his hair on fire.
(d) Pack up her belongings and leave.

7. What instrument is constantly played during the parade?
(a) Drums.
(b) Tuba.
(c) Flute.
(d) Trumpet.

8. How does Alice describe Dorcas?
(a) Plain but fun-loving.
(b) Beautiful but hardheaded.
(c) Funny but quiet.
(d) Ugly but pleasant.

9. What year does Joe and Violet move to the city?
(a) The author does not include a date.
(b) 1952.
(c) 1965.
(d) 1919.

10. What is Joe selling when he meets Dorcas?
(a) Brooms.
(b) Encyclopedias.
(c) Cosmetics.
(d) Coffee.

11. What are the Civic Daughters planning when Joe delivers the cosmetics?
(a) A Thanksgiving fundraiser.
(b) An Easter Egg hunt.
(c) Dorcas's engagement party.
(d) The debutante ball.

12. What does Malvonne include in the letter from Hot Steam to Daddy Sage?
(a) Five dollars.
(b) Violet's phone number.
(c) An article about adultery.
(d) A Bible passage.

13. What does Joe not recall from his early days with Violet?
(a) Feelings.
(b) The dresses that she wears.
(c) Specific dates.
(d) What they buy as a couple.

14. What does Alice Manfred do for a living?
(a) Cleans wealthy people's homes.
(b) She is a nurse for a black doctor.
(c) Cooks in a nearby restaurant.
(d) She is a seamstress.

15. What happens the same day Dorcas's mother is burned in the house fire?
(a) Dorcas's father is killed during a race riot.
(b) Dorcas is fired from her job.
(c) She is arrested by the police for murder.
(d) She overdoses on medication.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who rents Joe and Dorcas a bedroom once a week?

2. Where do Dorcas's clothespin dolls lay?

3. In the beginning of the book, why does Joe say he shoots Dorcas?

4. Who lives with Joe on Lenox Avenue?

5. Why does Malvonne want to make sure the young black girl's letter gets to the law school?

(see the answer keys)

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