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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. In Chicago, Clare's husband
(a) Asked Irene to leave.
(b) Denegrated and insulted the black race.
(c) Claimed he had Negro blood.
(d) Spoke of his unconditional love for people.

2. Helga's most recent infant
(a) Was nursed by Clementine.
(b) Passed away after one week.
(c) Looks just like Helga.
(d) Is cared for by Pastor Green.

3. Irene privately considers what it would be like if
(a) Brian and Clare eloped.
(b) Clare took her sons.
(c) Clare should die.
(d) Clare re-entered Harlem as a black woman.

4. Clare now sees that if her marriage breaks,
(a) She can travel more.
(b) She will be free to live in Harlem.
(c) She can give up mothering.
(d) She will despise her solitude.

5. For more than a week, Helga remains in a state of
(a) Unconsciousness.
(b) Blissful motherhood.
(c) Prayer.
(d) Rage.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Irene think Hugh Wentworth wants to come to Negro events?

2. Clare is upset that she will have to leave New York to

3. At the tea, Clare is

4. What did Clare's aunts do to her?

5. Brian would rather be living in

Short Essay Questions

1. What, exactly, does Irene fervently wish John Bellew could know? Why?

2. Hugh Wentworth, the white author, comes back into the story during the afternoon tea scene. What is Wentworth's role? Is he a true friend to Irene? To Clare?

3. What kind of parent is Clare Kendry? What are the clues, thus far, that help us to draw conclusions about her parenting abilities? How has Larsen informed us about this?

4. What is it that has kept Clare from leaving her husband and living permanently in Harlem?

5. Is there anything we can deduce about Irene's response to Clare's letter without knowing the whole story? If so, what are they?

6. What is your initial assessment of Clare Kendry? Do we know enough about her in these first two chapters to draw any conclusions about her? If so, what would they be?

7. Discuss how giving birth to her fourth child seems to be Helga's breaking point. Why does this happen? What does the death of her infant symbolize?

8. What is the burden that these characters carry with them throughout the story?

9. Clare attends the Negro League dance with Brian and Irene. What does the dance symbolize in the story? Why is Irene careful to arrange a ride home for Clare?

10. Things have taken a turn for the worse at the Redfields'. What are the clues that the story is inching toward a conclusion as it pertains to the Redfields and Clare Kendry? What conclusions can we draw about this section of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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