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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part 1, The Seer and the Seen, Section 3.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. As a child what do Ellison and his boyhood friends believe they are to do?
(a) They were doomed to hard manual labor and suffering.
(b) Be whoever they would and could be.
(c) Negros could never equal the lives of white Americans.
(d) Negros had no chance of doing anything interesting in life.

2. Why does Oklahoma hold some freedom and equality for Negroes at the time Ellison lived there?
(a) Oklahoma is founded on Mormon principles which forbade prejudice.
(b) There are almost no Negroes in Oklahoma.
(c) It has no tradition of slavery.
(d) It is fully integrated and equality was legislated.

3. Why does Ellison choose to analyze Mark Twain?
(a) Twain was a slave owner and trader.
(b) Twain was a humorist.
(c) Twain offers a unique historical perspective.
(d) Twain was married to a Negro woman.

4. What are the three themes of "Shadow and Act" according to the Introduction?
(a) White people, Black people, and Native Americans.
(b) Literature, Jazz/Blues and the relationship between Negro America and American culture.
(c) Racism, Poverty and Obstruction of Justice.
(d) Classical Dance, Country Music and Folk Art.

5. What is the origin of the essay "Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke?"
(a) Letter written by Ellison when he was living in Rome to an old friend.
(b) "Invisible Man."
(c) Short story about lynching.
(d) Treatise on the folk art of tying knots.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Henry Bowman Otto Davis?

2. According to Ellison what does the term "the grays" mean?

3. Other white cultures have black face type entertainment, but what is different about American black face?

4. Where does Ellison grow up?

5. What does Mark Twain do with the character of Jim that breaks through the black face minstrel tradition?

(see the answer key)

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