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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Morrison claim to struggle with language that evokes hidden signals?
(a) She is a good writer.
(b) She is a bad writer.
(c) She is a black writer.
(d) She is a female writer.

2. Who does Sapphira plot to rape her slave?
(a) Her son.
(b) Her nephew.
(c) Her husband.
(d) Her brother.

3. When was a criticism written deeming the term "darky" acceptable?
(a) 1956.
(b) 1942.
(c) 1936.
(d) 1951.

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

5. In what role does Morrison describe herself as assuming nothing happens?
(a) European.
(b) Writer.
(c) Reader.
(d) Black woman.

Short Answer Questions

1. What begins to tear at Cardinal's nerves?

2. Who is the author of Possession?

3. Which of the following is true about Africanism around the world?

4. In Morrison's point of view, what does the fabrication of an Africanist presence a reflexive mediation on?

5. How many years back did the presence of African-Americans in the US begin?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does it mean when Morrison says that her vulnerability lies in romanticizing blackness?

2. After reading the preface, what can the reader expect Morrison to discuss?

3. What can happen if we learn about the way Africanism functions in the literary imagination?

4. According to Morrison, what does a black woman represent to literature but not to herself?

5. Describe The Words to Say It and its subject matter.

6. Describe the dichotomies Morrison presents as being necessary for black people to fulfill.

7. What does Morrison say about Africanism worldwide?

8. Why doesn't Sapphira and the Slave Girl allow readers to ignore race?

9. What does Morrison hope that studies of racism will begin to examine?

10. To Morrison, why are reading and writing not extremely distinct for a writer?

(see the answer keys)

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