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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Alice Manfred related to Dorcas?

2. What is Joe selling when he meets Dorcas?

3. What do Violet and Joe do all night the first time they meet?

4. Who does Joe pray sends him a sign as he sits in the bushes?

5. Where does Violet put the picture of Dorcas?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter One, how does the narrator describe Violet Trace?

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

3. Describe the first time Joe officially meets Dorcas.

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

5. What is the significance of Dorcas's clothespin dolls in Chapter Three?

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

7. In Chapter Four, how does Violet imagine Joe's relationship with Dorcas?

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

9. What is the story the narrator gives behind Joe's last name?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do you describe the development of the relationship between Alice and Violet? Why do you think Violet is so determined to befriend Alice? What benefits do both women derive from the relationship?

Essay Topic 2

The title of the work is "Jazz." Why does Morrison choose such a title for this book? What is the significance of jazz music in this novel?

Essay Topic 3

What impact do you think Alice Manfred has on Dorcas? Do you think Dorcas is the same sort of person id she is not being raised by Alice? Why or why not?

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