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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. When it comes to Clare's motives, Irene is

2. Why does Irene bring up Junior's exposure to sexually tainted jokes?

3. This chapter finds Brian Redfield

4. Why is Irene offended by Clare's use of a PO Box for a return address?

5. How does Irene conclude that Brian and Clare are having an affair?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did her religion help Helga through difficult times?

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. What is the author's intention when she puts the two women together in the hotel restaurant scene? What conclusions can we draw from Irene's memory of that day?

6. Speculate on why Clare is silent at the Redfield dinner table, but talkative and gregarious a parties with others. Does she have a split personality, or is she just shy at the Redfields'? How does Larsen let on what is going on without saying it?

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. Discuss Helga's new exuberance as the wife of a minister.

9. How does this time in Helga's life compare to other times? Is it similar or different? In what ways?

10. What do we learn about the marriage of Irene and Brian Redfield in this chapter? Is it healthy? Is it durable? Why, or why not?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Research and write about Harlem in the 1920s. What made Harlem the haven it became for African Americans? What kinds of people lived there? What was the basic economic structure at that time? Did people generally live in Harlem and work outside, or vice versa? Was black Harlem closed to white folks?

Essay Topic 3

Write about the complexities of the personality of Mrs. Hayes-Rore. Why does Larsen develop her character? What does she symbolize? Is she a typical Harlemite? Is she important to Quicksand as a character? If so, what exactly is her role in the story?

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