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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where is the Lafargue Psychiatric Clinic?
(a) Biloxi.
(b) Lafargue.
(c) Harlem.
(d) Brooklyn.

2. What establishment is to the right of Ellison?
(a) Brothel with large dance hall.
(b) Police Academy with indoor shooting range.
(c) Restaurant with an enormous jute box.
(d) Dog training school with night classes.

3. Where is Ellison living in the essay "Living with Music?"
(a) Vermont barn.
(b) Cabin on board ship.
(c) Tiny ground floor rear apartment.
(d) Across from the Manhattan School of Music.

4. Who is the author of the novel "Intruder in the Dust?"
(a) Ralph Ellison.
(b) William Faulkner.
(c) Maria Sothington.
(d) Ernest Hemingway.

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

6. What is unique about "The Way It Is" compared to the other essays?
(a) Written as a narrative story.
(b) Has no humor.
(c) Focuses on Negro persons.
(d) Recommends communism.

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

8. Why does "Invisible Man" take so long to complete?
(a) No ending.
(b) Too many versions of the book.
(c) The transitions the character goes through.
(d) Not perfect enough.

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

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

11. What is Minton's Playhouse?
(a) Restaurant.
(b) Historic Jazz Club.
(c) Broadway theater.
(d) Day Care Center.

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

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

14. What year are the African slaves introduced into the American Colonies?
(a) 1619.
(b) 1916.
(c) 1432.
(d) 1801.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. From what did Parker struggle to escape?

2. What two types of music is Ellison torn between as a child?

3. What institutions does Minton's evolve out of?

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

5. Is Ellison interested primarily in injustice or art?

(see the answer keys)

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