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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 kind of events does Laly host in her home for Bliss?

2. What does Bliss find himself torn between after the large Juneteenth revival is interrupted?

3. What does the person who interrupts the large Juneteenth ceremony want?

4. Who is the author of Juneteenth?

5. What items does Bliss have with him in the coffin before the Juneteenth revival?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Reverend Hickman claim that the senator cannot call the object he was in a coffin?

2. What makes Hickman realize he will have a life of bachelorhood?

3. What happens to Bliss, Donelson, and Karp when Laly and the other townspeople discover that their movie-making venture is a fraud?

4. Why does Sister Georgia think she is most qualified to take care of Bliss after the incident at the Juneteenth revival?

5. What internal conflict does Bliss's beating of the little clown symbolize?

6. Why does Hickman want Bliss to rise out of a coffin during their services?

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

8. Who is Brer Rabbit?

9. How much of their losses are Laly and the townspeople able to recover once they discover that Bliss, Donelson, and Karp are frauds?

10. What hallucination does Senator Sunraider have while giving his speech on the senate floor?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss at least 2 pros and 2 cons of leaving a character motherless in a novel, using Bliss as an example for each pro and each con. Make sure to use specifics from Juneteenth to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Is Reverend Hickman a "good" character or a "bad" character? Provide at least 3 examples from the novel to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Choose at least 3 female characters from Juneteenth and discuss how each one contributes to the larger role that Ellison gives to women in the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 604 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample