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

2. What does the train conductor announce when he walks through the cabin where Joe and Violet are standing?

3. What does Violet envision Joe giving Dorcas?

4. What year does Joe and Violet move to the city?

5. Why does Joe begin tracking Dorcas down with a gun?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the death of Dorcas's mother.

3. Describe what Violet does with the picture of Dorcas in Chapter One.

4. Describe the different things Joe and Violet see in the picture of Dorcas.

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

6. In Chapter Five, what does Joe think of when he imagines Dorcas?

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

8. Describe the relationship between Violet and Alice as presented in Chapter Three.

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

10. In what ways does Alice try to protect Dorcas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Violet decide she never wants to have children? What impact does this have on her marriage? How does her desire to have children change throughout the book and why?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the significance of Golden Gray in Violet's life. How does it affect her childhood as well as her marriage with Joe?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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