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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who interviews Ellison in "The Art of Fiction?"
(a) Alfred Chester & Vilma Howard.
(b) John Jacob & Nancy Kerry.
(c) Donald Gibson and Bob Edwards.
(d) Gertrude Whittall and T. S. Eliot.

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

3. When does Jones place the beginnings of the blues?
(a) During the Civil Rights movement.
(b) In ancient times throughout Africa.
(c) World War II.
(d) At the Negro's conscious appearance on the American scene.

4. What magazine does Ellison write music reviews for?
(a) Negro Nightlife.
(b) Saturday Review.
(c) Music Town Tonight.
(d) New Yorker.

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

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

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

8. Does Ellison have "Invisible Man" completely thought out prior to writing it?
(a) No, he just wrote as it came to him.
(b) Ellison refuses to discuss his writing method.
(c) Yes, the conceptual framework was in place.
(d) Partly, he knew what the ending would be, but that was all.

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

10. 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.

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

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

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

14. Where is Minton's located?
(a) Brooklyn.
(b) Cleveland.
(c) Harlem.
(d) Manhattan.

15. What is the final grade Jackson finished in school?
(a) Graduate degree in music.
(b) 3rd.
(c) Freshman in college.
(d) 8th.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do the three sections of "Invisible Man" represent?

2. Who lives on the left of Ellison?

3. What do all American Negros share?

4. What falls on Ellison and his wife while they sleep?

5. How does Ellison describe Mahalia Jackson?

(see the answer keys)

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