View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the "Act" Ellison refers to in the title of both the essay and the book?
(a) Reality.
(b) Cruelty.
(c) Hatred.
(d) Violence.

2. Where does Charlie Christian come from?
(a) San Francisco.
(b) Topeka.
(c) Harlem.
(d) Oklahoma City.

3. What is Jimmy Rushing's instrument?
(a) Banjo.
(b) Piano.
(c) Voice.
(d) Violin.

4. Who is Charlie Christian?
(a) Innovative drummer.
(b) Haunting blues trumpeter.
(c) Greatest jazz guitarist.
(d) Highest paid night club singer.

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

6. What does the drunk of legend who lives on the corner like to yell?
(a) Shut up.
(b) I'm lost.
(c) It's a long way to Tipperary.
(d) Ain't nobody here but me.

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

8. What is Ellison's reaction to the term "Negro culture?"
(a) Past and gone from sight.
(b) The term is so vague as to be meaningless.
(c) It is the world he longs to be in.
(d) Highest type of culture.

9. Who are the two main characters in "Intruder in the Dust?"
(a) Joe and Mal.
(b) Chick Mallison and Lucas Beauchamp.
(c) William Faulkner and Maria Sothington.
(d) Mark Marroni and Leroy Belvadon.

10. In "Blues People" how are the blues categorized?
(a) Country or classic.
(b) Negro or White.
(c) Good or bad.
(d) Poetic or Sociological.

11. What is the first book Ellison ever reviews in a publication?
(a) E. Waters Turpin's "These Low Grounds."
(b) James Baldwin's "Protest Novel."
(c) John Joseph's "Ain't no way out."
(d) Richard Wright's "Amazing Grace."

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

13. What kind of radio does Ellison have?
(a) Old Nelson AM with Riddle FM tuner.
(b) Wooden American Minder with glass tubes.
(c) Old Philco AM with Pilot FM tuner.
(d) Plastic transistor radio.

14. What street is Minton's on?
(a) 11th Avenue.
(b) 1st Avenue.
(c) Broadway.
(d) 118th Street.

15. Who lives above Ellison?
(a) Exercise club.
(b) Judo training facility.
(c) Diligent classical singer.
(d) Tap dancer.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ellison believe Negro folklore does?

2. What does Ellison say slaves had in place of freedom?

3. Who is LeRoi Jones?

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

5. Who lives on the left of Ellison?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 458 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample