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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What is James Reese Europe known for?
(a) Playing the tenor sax.
(b) Protesting segregation.
(c) Starting a fire at Minton's.
(d) Inventing the fox trot.

3. What does Ellison say slaves had in place of freedom?
(a) Blues, spirituals, jazz.
(b) Early death, disease, drunkenness.
(c) Dementia, mental illness, emptiness.
(d) Suffering, despair, darkness.

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

5. How does Ellison describe Mahalia Jackson?
(a) Female Louis Armstrong.
(b) Jazz Diva.
(c) High Priestess.
(d) Uncle Tom.

6. What race of people are allowed into Minton's?
(a) Negro people.
(b) White people.
(c) Everybody is allowed in.
(d) Negro musicians and white customers.

7. What is the significance of printing Negro with a capital N?
(a) There is no significance.
(b) Typographical error.
(c) Dismissive category.
(d) Victory for Negro people's self-definition.

8. What does Jones analyze "bop" as?
(a) Cultivated blues disguised as popular culture.
(b) Attempt to circumvent critics.
(c) Conscious gesture of separation.
(d) Misguided anger towards society.

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

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

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

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

13. Why are slaves able to express themselves in art?
(a) Art was seen as harmless by slave owners.
(b) They were given artistic education by slave owners.
(c) They came from African cultures where art was highly functional.
(d) Entertainment was enforced by white culture.

14. What kind of bird does Ellison say Parker is?
(a) Sad Crow.
(b) Haunting Vulture.
(c) Silly Turkey.
(d) Poor Robin.

15. What is the original title of the film "The Birth of a Nation?"
(a) White Pride.
(b) KKK Army.
(c) The Clansman.
(d) Domination.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ellison believe Negro folklore does?

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

3. What street is Minton's on?

4. Where is Ellison living in the essay "Living with Music?"

5. What do people eat at Minton's?

(see the answer keys)

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