View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Charlie Christian play when he was a young child?
(a) Oil drum.
(b) Tin fiddle.
(c) Cigar box banjo.
(d) Plastic trumpet.

2. In "The Art of Fiction: An Interview" what does Ellison say at the very beginning?
(a) "Invisible Man" is not an autobiography.
(b) I don't have much time so hurry up.
(c) All questions must be submitted on paper first.
(d) Did you hear the one about the three guys who go into a bar?

3. What is Charlie Parker's nickname?
(a) C.P.
(b) Bird.
(c) Horn.
(d) Noodle.

4. What does Ellison read in 1935 that moves and intrigues him?
(a) Voltaire's "Moliere."
(b) R. Wright's "Black Boy."
(c) Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
(d) T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land."

5. What institutions does Minton's evolve out of?
(a) NAACP and YMCA.
(b) Asbury Baptist and League of Women Voters.
(c) Clef Club and Rhythm Club.
(d) New York Jazz Organization and Rockefeller Trust.

6. How does Ellison define the "understanding of art?"
(a) Limited to a very few elite patrons.
(b) Depending upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity.
(c) Created by the whims of the culture at the time.
(d) It is not to be understood, only felt.

7. What Hotel is Minton's part of?
(a) Hotel LaGrand.
(b) Hotel Cecil.
(c) Hotel Barbero.
(d) Hotel Plaza.

8. What does the chaos of noise cause in Ellison?
(a) Peace and Joy.
(b) Hearing loss.
(c) Writer's block.
(d) Mental Illness.

9. What does Ellison believe Negro folklore does?
(a) Makes white people comfortable.
(b) Keeps Negros down.
(c) Tells lies about the past.
(d) Reveals the most intimate part of American history.

10. What does the hero of "Invisible Man" do that is a common theme in Negro folklore?
(a) Travels from the south and goes north to find freedom.
(b) Hides his true self from the world.
(c) Layers meaning under jokes and images of nature.
(d) Writes his thoughts in song lyrics.

11. Who is LeRoi Jones?
(a) Jazz critic, author, poet and editor.
(b) Trumpeter and composer.
(c) Drummer, restaurant owner and chef.
(d) Journalist, painter and fencing master.

12. Who says Negro dock workers were the best singers of Irish songs?
(a) Paul Oliver.
(b) Constance Rourke.
(c) Lafcadio Hearn.
(d) Stanley Hyman.

13. Who is Mrs. Lydia Maria Child?
(a) Primary benefactor of Tuskegee Institute.
(b) Patron of the LeRoi Restaurant.
(c) Leading member of the American Anti-Slavery Society.
(d) Teacher of jazz poetry.

14. Is Ellison interested primarily in injustice or art?
(a) Injustice.
(b) Art.
(c) Both equally.
(d) Neither.

15. What song moves Jackson into the public eye?
(a) Move On Up a Little Higher.
(b) Der Lieberstein.
(c) Wings of a Dove.
(d) Amazing Grace.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who interviews Ellison in "The Art of Fiction?"

2. What is Mrs. Jackson cooking in "The Way It Is?"

3. When does Jones place the beginnings of the blues?

4. What magazine does Ellison write music reviews for?

5. What is the "Shadow" which Hollywood produces?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 517 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample