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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What does Ellison do to find some peace and quiet?
(a) Wears earplugs.
(b) Creates a sound system of his own.
(c) Begins to meditate.
(d) Pads the walls with newspaper.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Charlie Christian?

2. Culturally, what do American Negros represent?

3. What does the drunk of legend who lives on the corner like to yell?

4. From what did Parker struggle to escape?

5. What does Jones analyze "bop" as?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ellison tell us about the matriarch, Mrs. Jackson, in "The Way It Is."

2. What does Ellison say is the invisible man's discovery?

3. What are the two categories Jones places the blues in?

4. Where is "Minton's Playhouse" located?

5. What does the "drunk of legend" who lives on the corner do?

6. What type of music does the upstairs singer practice all day?

7. What does Ellison believe Jackson's greatest gift is?

8. When asked when he began "Invisible Man" what does Ellison answer?

9. What place does "Living with Music" describe?

10. Who is Mahalia Jackson?

(see the answer keys)

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