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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. Who lives with Joe on Lenox Avenue?
(a) Dorcas.
(b) Violet.
(c) Golden Gray.
(d) Alice.

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

3. How long does it take for Joe and Violet to pay off the debt on their farm?
(a) Five years.
(b) Twenty-two years.
(c) They never pay it off.
(d) Six months.

4. What does Joe see in Dorcas's picture?
(a) A beautiful, sweet girl.
(b) A scraggly, shy teenager.
(c) An aged, harsh woman.
(d) A woman who looks just like Violet.

5. What do Violet and Joe do all night the first time they meet?
(a) Fight.
(b) Eat.
(c) Talk.
(d) Dance.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Joe think of when he imagines Dorcas?

2. Why is Violet committed to gaining weight?

3. Who understands, like Joe, what it feels like to feel nothing inside?

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

5. What does Violet envision Joe giving Dorcas?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Five, how does the author describe Harlem in the springtime?

2. In Chapter Four, how does the narrator describe the way Violet feels after she attacks Dorcas's body?

3. Describe the series of thoughts in Joe's mind the night he shoots Dorcas in Chapter Five.

4. In Chapter Two, recount the surprise that Malvonne finds behind her refrigerator and her response to it.

5. Describe Joe's recollection of the train ride to Maryland in Chapter Two.

6. Describe the relationship between Alice Manfred and Dorcas.

7. How does the narrator describe the way Joe and Violet meet in Chapter Four?

8. In Chapter Two, what does Joe tell Dorcas that he never tells Violet?

9. Describe the first time Joe officially meets Dorcas.

10. Why is Violet known as "Violent" Trace in town?

(see the answer keys)

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