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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. What does the senator suggest Reverend Hickman might have otherwise done with his life?
(a) Been a trumpet player.
(b) Been a chef.
(c) Been a guitarist.
(d) Been a playwright.

2. What Biblical passage does Hickman quote when Bliss arises out of the coffin during revivals?
(a) "And a little child shall lead them."
(b) "And the dead will rise again."
(c) "Hush, little children."
(d) "And we shall love all chidren, even the dead ones."

3. When does Juneteenth take place?
(a) Nineteenth century.
(b) Early to mid-twentieth century.
(c) 1984.
(d) The reader never really knows.

4. What is the name of the person who assassinates Senator Sunraider?
(a) Severen.
(b) Snape.
(c) McCarthy.
(d) Jameson.

5. Which character does Senator Sunraider ask for from the hospital?
(a) Reverend Hickman.
(b) The president.
(c) His mother.
(d) Sister Laly.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the Senator not physically fight back to bullies during his childhood?

2. What can Bliss see inside his tiny coffin?

3. For the large Juneteenth revival, who lifts Bliss into the coffin?

4. What financial reward does the young senator get for popping out of the coffin at the appropriate time?

5. What was Senator Sunraider's childhood name?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Reverend Hickman feel about the Juneteenth holiday?

2. After he is shot, what does Senator Sunraider vaguely see by his bedside?

3. Why does Bliss get to cut open the watermelon he and Sister Georgia share?

4. Why does Sister Georgia whisk Bliss away from the Juneteenth revival after Reverend Hickman and Sister Bearmasher take the crazy woman to jail?

5. Why is Bliss conflicted over Hickman's strong encouragement to begin preaching at such a young age?

6. What has Lorelli done to make others call the authorities?

7. Where does the term "Juneteenth" come from?

8. What does Lorelli have a history of doing?

9. What kinds of literary techniques does Ellison use when describing Senator Sunraider's childhood memories as he lay dying in his hospital bed?

10. In the final chapter of the novel, how is it clear that the senator is in a hallucinatory state?

(see the answer keys)

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