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 school does Lonney attend part-time?

2. What did Pearl discover about a week after Humphrey was born?

3. What color car does Penny drive?

4. What does Lydia ask of the nurse who calls to inform her of her mother's death?

5. How old is Avis?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the significance of the title of "His Mother's House".

2. Why does Santiago's grandmother ban him from her house?

3. Explain how Santiago makes money.

4. In "Gospel", describe Vivian L. Slater's Sunday morning ritual.

5. Discuss the way the dreadlock man responds to Marvella's children.

6. Describe the first job the protagonist has in "The Store".

7. How do the Gospelteers respond to the fire at the church?

8. Describe the woman Mildred's husband had an affair with.

9. Why does Marvella keep her children at the school in Northwest?

10. In "An Orange Line Train to Ballston", describe the opening of the story.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the way in which race emerges as a theme in the stories. Although the book is comprised of a majority of black characters, Jones still approaches and interrogates notions of race in the United States. Using evidence from at least four stories, discuss the way in which Jones treats the topic of race. Why does he choose to focus entirely on African-American characters? How do these characters perceive their own racial identity and place with the society of the United States? Is this perception influenced by generation or class?

Essay Topic 2

Relationships between women are central to many of the stories in this collection. Select three stories from the collection and discuss the way in which women form community amongst themselves. How does Jones portray the bonds between women in these stories? Are they mutually supportive? Antagonistic? Do these relationships fill any particular needs for the women who form them?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the role of history in this collection of stories. On the micro level, how does personal history appear in the stories individually or as a group? On the macro level, how does national history influence the stories in the collection? Is history an inescapable force that determines all possibilities in the stories? Or, is it something that may be overcome? In your analysis, address one story in depth or discuss the overarching themes of history which connect several stories in the collection.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,002 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample