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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does "Invisible Man" take so long to complete?

2. What do the blues capture?

3. What year are the African slaves introduced into the American Colonies?

4. From what did Parker struggle to escape?

5. What does Ellison do to find some peace and quiet?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How does the early film "Birth of the Nation" portray Negro persons?

6. What does Ellison believe is the primary American theme in both life and literature?

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

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

9. Who does the song "They picked poor robin clean" remind Ellison of?

10. What does the mural above the bandstand at Minton's depict?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The final essay in the book was never published. It is a book review of the Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal who was brought in by the Carnegie Foundation to study the "Negro problem." What is Ellison's primary reaction to the book? What is positive in Myrdal's assessment? What does Ellison object to? Why do you think the review was never published?

Essay Topic 2

"Brave Words for a Startling Occasion" is Ellison's acceptance speech when he received the American National Book award. Why was it, for Ellison, a startling occasion? What about his speech is brave? What is the overall theme of this speech?

Essay Topic 3

In "Living with Music" Ellison literally finds himself overwhelmed by the group of people who live around him. His struggle to find his own peace within a larger and very noisy society is a metaphor for the way he sees the individual constantly struggling against the group in life. How does he find peace? What method does he use to carve out his space and literally "be heard?"

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