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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How do the police finally catch Bigger?
(a) They use a water hose to soak him.
(b) An officer wrestles with him and wins.
(c) They shoot him in the leg.
(d) They don't, he gets away one more time.

2. In book two, how do the reporters decide to frame their stories?
(a) That the communists and the negros are working together to get the ransom.
(b) That the negros want to be left alone and the communists forcing their beliefs on them.
(c) That negros are becomming more involved with communisim.
(d) That the communists have plotted the kidnapping and are blaming it on Bigger.

3. What is Bigger's only regret about what he did to Bessie?
(a) He has no regrets.
(b) He regrets she didn't see things his way.
(c) He left $90 in her pocket.
(d) He didn't take back his engagement ring.

4. As Bigger tells his fabricated story about the previous evening to Mr. Dalton and Britten, what is he feeling?
(a) Afraid they won't believe him and that he'll be under suspicion.
(b) So proud of his story he thinks of becoming a fiction writer.
(c) Worried they will find something in his story that doesn't ring true.
(d) Like he is the one in control because he is telling them what he wants them to believe.

5. What happens when Bigger climbs another ledge on the rooftop and beings crawling away?
(a) He hides behind a chimney.
(b) He is spotted.
(c) He buries himself in snow so they don't see him.
(d) He gets away.

6. What goes through Bigger's mind when he hears the music from the church?
(a) He wishes he could be with his mother.
(b) He hates the music and can't wait to find another apartment.
(c) He hums along, but feeling to peace he gets angry.
(d) He half wishes he was a believer like his mother, but doesn't want to give up his sense of self.

7. What does Bigger begin to wish for all blacks?
(a) That they will one day make their own laws and rules.
(b) That one day blacks will one day be equal to whites.
(c) That they will become superior to the whites and treat them like they have been treated.
(d) That someone will bring them together to make their lives better.

8. What happens when Britten backs Bigger against the wall and grabs his collar asking him about the pamphlets Jan Erlone gave him?
(a) Mr. Dalton tells Britten, Bigger probably knows nothing about them and doesn't even know Jan Erlone.
(b) Bigger stares coldly into the eyes of Britten until the man releases him.
(c) Mr. Dalton tells Britten that Bigger probably wouldn't even understand the brochures.
(d) Bigger wants to hit the private investigator, but controls the urge.

9. Why does Mr. Dalton refuse to have Jan Erlone picked up by the police for questioning?
(a) He doesn't think Jan Erlone has anything to do with it.
(b) He's afraid his daughter is just doing this to disgrace the family.
(c) He doesn't want the police invovled because doesn't trust them.
(d) He is afraid of the bad publicity.

10. On the streetcar on the way to Bessie's apartment what does Bigger want to shout?
(a) That he was lucky to have a good job.
(b) That he killed a rich, white girl.
(c) That he was in love with a beautiful girl.
(d) That he knew something they didn't know.

11. What are Bigger's plans for the kidnapping farce?
(a) Have $10,000 put in a shoe box that will be dropped and Bessie will retrieve.
(b) But $100,000 in a shoe box that will be dropped and Bessie will retrieve.
(c) Put $1,000 in a hat box that Bessie will retrieve.
(d) Put $100,000 in a hat box that he will retrieve.

12. What does the white cat do while Bigger is being questioned by the police and reporters?
(a) It keeps looking from the furnace to Bigger and back again.
(b) Sits staring intently at Bigger.
(c) Jumps on his shoulder, then walks around his feet.
(d) Jumps on his shoulder and digs in its claws.

13. What does Bigger overhear Mrs. Dalton saying to Peggy when she learns her daughter is gone?
(a) She expresses her dislike for the people Mary travels with, and is shocked she hadn't even packed her new clothing for the trip.
(b) She expains that she does not trust the people Mary associates herself with, and suspects they have something to do with Mary not being home.
(c) She complains that she took her daughter shopping for expensive clothing that she didn't even pack for her trip.
(d) She admits she isn't comfortable with Bigger living in the house and wonders if he frightened her daughter away.

14. In book two when Bigger finally falls asleep after hearing Peggy and Mrs. Dalton talking about Mary, what does he recall in his dream?
(a) How his mother warned him he'll end up in the gallows if he doesn't straighten out his life.
(b) How noisy he was when he took the trunk to the car that morning.
(c) How noisy he was when he took the trunk the the basement the night before.
(d) How Mrs. Dalton nearly caught him with Mary in her bedroom the night before.

15. The South Side Real Estate Company is what to Bigger?
(a) The company where Bigger hopes to one day work.
(b) The company Bigger dreams of one day owning.
(c) The South Side Real Estate Company is nothing to Bigger.
(d) The company to whom he pays rent for his family's rat-infested room.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens after Jan Erlone sees Bigger on the street and offers to help him, then invites him out for coffee to talk about the situation?

2. While hidden Bigger reads a newspaper about the search for him. Why do the authorities still think Jan Erlone is the mastermind behind the entire murder and ransom?

3. Before Bigger puts more coal on the fire, what is he certain he sees in the furnace?

4. What happens when the first police officer comes through the trap door to the rooftop?

5. How many people are searching for Bigger?

(see the answer keys)

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