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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part 2, Sound and the Mainstream, Section 1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Ellison praise about "Primer for White Folks?"
(a) The search for images of black and white fraternity.
(b) Short and to the point.
(c) Easy to read and young children will like it.
(d) Realistic and therefore does not contain much hope.

2. Where is the essay "Stephen Crane and the Mainstream of American Fiction" published?
(a) In the Atlantic Monthly.
(b) As an introduction to "The Red Badge of Courage" 1960 printing.
(c) In the Harvard Review of Literature, 1950.
(d) It was never published.

3. Why does Ellison choose to analyze Ernest Hemingway?
(a) Hemingway ignored the dramatic and symbolic possibilities a Negro character would present.
(b) Hemingway sold more books than any other American author.
(c) Hemingway was not American.
(d) Hemingway grew up in Oklahoma City also.

4. Why does Ellison reject the "hard-boiled" novel style of writing?
(a) Too boring for what he wants to say.
(b) Primarily a white form of writing.
(c) Full of physical violence, social cynicism and understatement.
(d) Focused on detectives and criminals.

5. Where does Ellison give the public address "Hidden Name and Complex Fate?"
(a) National Association of the Advancement of Colored People.
(b) Rutgers University Convocation on Race and Entitlement.
(c) Library of Congress in 1964.
(d) nternational Peace Conference in Geneva, New York.

Short Answer Questions

1. What Greek myth does Ellison refer to in "Brave Words?"

2. Why does Ellison begin the speech by referring to Ernest Hemingway?

3. What falls on Ellison and his wife while they sleep?

4. How does Ellison describe the writer Malraux?

5. Where does Ellison say civil wars are fought?

(see the answer key)

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