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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 dialogue is used to describe Senator Sunraider's childhood?

2. Why does Hickman say Juneteenth will always be celebrated?

3. At what point does Bliss come out of his coffin during the large Juneteenth revival?

4. What was Senator Sunraider's childhood name?

5. What does the young senator think his only weapon is as a child?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bliss's obsession with the image of the movie actress symbolize?

2. How does Hickman encourage Senator Sunraider to come to peace with the fact that he was preaching at such a young age?

3. What makes Bliss so upset about the clown act at the circus?

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

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

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

7. What moves Sister Georgia in particular about Bliss's life?

8. Because of Bliss, what kinds of accusations are periodically leveled at the reverend?

9. What does Hickman consider his permanent home?

10. How does Revered Hickman react when the newspaper in D.C. tells him and his group that their story is not interesting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Was Reverend Hickman right in raising Bliss as his own son? Should he have done something differently? Use at least 3 examples from the text to support your position.

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

Discuss what message about religion Ellison is trying to convey, using specific quotations from the text to support your argument.

(see the answer keys)

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