View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part 1, The Seer and the Seen, Section 8.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where and when is the essay "Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke" published?
(a) New Yorker Magazine, Summer, 1959.
(b) Yale Literary Review, Winter, 1960.
(c) Life Magazine, Summer, 1958.
(d) Partisan Review, Spring 1958.

2. What three ways do Negroes in Wright's childhood survive?
(a) Accept, repress or fight.
(b) Vote, campaign, or legislate.
(c) Embrace, celebrate, or be grateful.
(d) Enjoy, relax, or savor.

3. As a child what is Wright unable to distinguish between?
(a) His fair-skinned grandmother and the white women of the town.
(b) Right and Wrong.
(c) Day and night.
(d) When to be quiet and when to speak.

4. Why does Ellison choose to analyze William Falkner?
(a) Falkner is a great artist and could not be left out of the discussion.
(b) Falkner is very critical of Ellison's novel.
(c) Falkner writes about Negro life with mixed motives but also with great success.
(d) Falkner is a close personal friend of Ellison.

5. According to Ellison what does the term "the grays" mean?
(a) Negro term for white people.
(b) Slang word for feeling bored.
(c) American melting pot.
(d) Negro term for nightfall.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Ellison chose not to emphasize the details of racial hardship in his life?

2. What is the occasion of Ellison's speech "Brave Words on a Startling Occasion?"

3. What are the three themes of "Shadow and Act" according to the Introduction?

4. What specific folk art form does "Black Boy" reflect?

5. Violence is inflicted upon Wright by family, friends, and society as a whole. What is his response?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 341 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample