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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. That Ellison's first novel might win a prestigious award makes him think what?
(a) He is a brilliant writer.
(b) There is a crisis in the American novel.
(c) The committee has made a huge mistake.
(d) He is chosen only because he is Negro.

3. What folk tradition does Ellison believe the black face figure grows out of?
(a) West Indies.
(b) Africa.
(c) America.
(d) Europe.

4. Culturally, what do American Negros represent?
(a) Great amalgam of African, American Indian and European cultures.
(b) Repression of natural human desire.
(c) Future of American melting pot.
(d) African tribal customs transplanted to American soil.

5. What is it that widens Ellison's world in a dramatic way?
(a) Athletics.
(b) Living with a white family.
(c) Reading.
(d) Traveling abroad.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ellison read in 1935 that moves and intrigues him?

2. How does Ellison describe Wright's autobiography "Black Boy?"

3. Where and when is the essay "Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke" published?

4. Why does Ellison consider Stephen Crane a great artist?

5. What is the basic spiritual outlook of the American Negro?

(see the answer key)

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