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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following elements of racism does Morrison say studies of racism focus on?
(a) Why literature is racist.
(b) People who have failed as a result of racism.
(c) Consequences of racism.
(d) Origin of racism.

2. What begins to tear at Cardinal's nerves?
(a) Music.
(b) Movies.
(c) Books.
(d) Conversation.

3. What hidden signals does Morrison look for?
(a) Racial superiority.
(b) Genderization.
(c) An author's true feelings about people.
(d) Africanization.

4. What is the opposite of restrained in the dichotomy present in Morrison's book?
(a) Wicked.
(b) Pure.
(c) Anger.
(d) Benevolent.

5. What is "the Thing"?
(a) Classic literature.
(b) Morrison's distaste for Africanist literature.
(c) Cardinal's illness.
(d) Louis Armstrong concert.

6. Which of the following does Morrison acknowledge?
(a) That each reader is looking for something different.
(b) That each author is biased.
(c) That each reader reads differently.
(d) That each writer tries to avoid writing about race.

7. Who gave the lectures that Morrison bases Playing in the Dark on?
(a) Westley Morford.
(b) William Massey.
(c) Willard Mast.
(d) Wexley Moth.

8. Morrison claims that she does not want to replace what with Afrocentric domination?
(a) White.
(b) American.
(c) Eurocentric.
(d) Literature.

9. According to Morrison, what do readers and writers fight for?
(a) Meaning and responsibility.
(b) Defintion and defiance.
(c) Determination and fear.
(d) Individuality and duality.

10. Who is the second author Morrison mentions as including black references in his or her work?
(a) Lawrence.
(b) Faulkner.
(c) Proust.
(d) Du Maurier.

11. Which of the following is true about Africanism around the world?
(a) American literature is the only type of literature that features Africanism.
(b) African literature is the only type of literature that has not constructed Africanism.
(c) Europe is the only first-world region that does not acknowledge Africanism.
(d) The US is not unique in its construction of Africanism.

12. Where does Morrison claim to apply the knowledge in Playing in the Dark?
(a) The way she communicates.
(b) The way she argues.
(c) The way she reads.
(d) The class she teaches.

13. Who wrote The Words to Say It?
(a) Marilee Coxwell.
(b) Maxine Christenson.
(c) Mason Conte.
(d) Marie Cardinal.

14. What does Morrison consider the consequences of?
(a) Exemplary black and white characters.
(b) Literary feminism.
(c) Literary whiteness and blackness.
(d) Racial profiling in literature.

15. Which type of artist does Morrison describe as being the most anarchic?
(a) Writers.
(b) Readers.
(c) Painters.
(d) Photographers.

Short Answer Questions

1. Until recently, what did Morrison assume about all readers of American fiction?

2. Morrison says that what item reveals itself differently to each writer?

3. What does Morrison say produces work?

4. Who was Cardinal warned against having relationships with?

5. When did Morrison read The Words to Say It?

(see the answer keys)

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