View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Dorcas notice about Joe when he shoots her?

2. When does the ambulance arrive to help Dorcas?

3. What do Joe and Violet do when they meet at the drugstore?

4. What does True Belle sew to the hem of her dress?

5. Why does Malvonne gossip to both Joe and Violet near the end of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Nine, why does Felice come to visit Violet and Joe?

2. In Chapter Seven, why does Joe think Wild is his own mother?

3. Describe the way Felice obtains the ring, as presented by the narrator in Chapter Nine.

4. What does Vera Louise's mother do when she finds out Vera Louise is pregnant?

5. In Chapter 10, why does Alice Manfred move back to Springfield? What do you think is the real reason she moves back to Springfield?

6. Why do you think the ambulance takes such a long time to come help Dorcas? What excuses do they give?

7. Describe the relationship between True Belle and Golden Gray.

8. Describe what Joe and Violet do together at night in Chapter 10.

9. In Chapter Eight, what does Dorcas notice about Joe?

10. In Chapter Seven, how does Henry say you can always find Wild?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Briefly summarize the incident when Malvonne finds the mail behind the refrigerator. What does she do in response? Why does she spend time doing these sorts of things, and what irony do you find in the events?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of Violet and Dorcas. How are their lives different? How are the characters the same?

Essay Topic 3

How is racism explored and conveyed in Morrison's work? Why do you think Morrison writes about it in this way?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 593 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample