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

2. What church does Mahalia grow up in?
(a) Pentecostal.
(b) Roman Catholic.
(c) Baptist.
(d) African Episcopal.

3. Jones contends "A slave cannot be a ______" (fill in word).
(a) Communist.
(b) Man.
(c) Musician.
(d) Intellectual.

4. Where does Charlie Parker die?
(a) Crossing the Atlantic.
(b) Hotel suite of a Baroness.
(c) Alley behind Minton's.
(d) Mental hospital.

5. What does Jones advise his audience to do?
(a) Protest against the Vietnam war.
(b) Read his poetry outdoors.
(c) Approach his work, "Blues People" as a theoretical endeavor.
(d) Eat plenty of vegetables.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who lives above Ellison?

2. Where is the book review "Blues People" published and when?

3. How does Ellison describe Mahalia Jackson?

4. What does Ellison read in 1935 that moves and intrigues him?

5. What is the first book Ellison ever reviews in a publication?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Ellison understand the term "Negro culture" to mean?

3. In the Paris Review (Spring 1955) Ellison was interviewed about his work as a writer. What does he say his first piece of professional writing was?

4. What experience in Ellison's childhood gives him patience with his upstairs singing neighbor?

5. Where is the Lefargue Psychiatric Clinic located?

6. What type of food is served at Minton's?

7. Why does Ellison disagree with Jones when he says "A slave cannot be a man"?

8. What is the film "Intruder in the Dust" about?

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

10. What captures the attention of many critics about "Blues People."

(see the answer keys)

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