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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What Helga respects in Audrey is

2. It is possible that Helga Crane is

3. Helga remembers being in Denmark where people

4. What emotion does Dr. Anderson's presence stir up in Helga?

5. Helga resents the authority structure's tendency to be

Short Essay Questions

1. Why would Helga become alienated in a school for Negro children? What makes her different from other faculty.

2. Discuss Uncle Poul's reaction to Helga's weeping. Is he a kind man? A loving uncle? Why or why not?

3. What exactly happens to Helga in Denmark? What is her social life like? Is she doomed to be unhappy again? Why?

4. Discuss Axel Olsen's inappropriateness with Helga. What kind of person is he? Why does Helga reject him?

5. Why does Helga's lack of references hurt her job search? Why does she have no references?

6. What does Axel Olsen's portrait of Helga symbolize? Is the portrait important to the story? Why or why not?

7. Who is Uncle Peter? Why does Helga expect help from him?

8. What was it about Helga's past that was so unhappy? Is her unhappiness justified? Why, or why not?

9. Is Helga feeling regret as she leaves Naxos? Why or why not? Is this a good move for her career? Is sh being responsible?

10. Explain Helga's repulsed fascination with the Negro performers. Why does she return over and over to see them? Is this helping her somehow?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the music in Harlem during the 1920s, including popular musicians and their audiences. Do some of the same venues still exist there? Does the traditional music of the 1920s still exist there? What permanent mark did early Harlem leave on music, if any?

Essay Topic 2

How is Larsen's own attitude toward black women's sexuality revealed, both in Quicksand and Passing? Was Larsen a prude? Was she concerned about the stereotyping of black women? If so, how does she demonstrate her attitudes in these stories?

Essay Topic 3

Who made up high society in the black population in New York in the 1920s? What did these people do for a living? From where did their money come? Focus on three examples of historical figures and discuss their occupations and lifestyles.

(see the answer keys)

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