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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. Who is the first woman to deliver a 'colored baby' at Mercy Hospital?

2. The purpose of Guitar's organization is to kill _______ white person(s) for each black person that is killed at the hands of a white person

3. What does Macon reveal about Ruth's relationship with her father?

4. What does Hagar want to do in response to Milkman's breakup?

5. What is another name for the hospital in the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Guitar's reason for trying to kill Milkman?

2. Why do the beatings of Ruth finally stop in the Dead household?

3. What is wrong with Mercy Hospital that it has been given a not-so-flattering nickname?

4. What breaks Hagar from her three day trance?

5. What is Susan's response to Milkman's questions about his grandmother, Sing?

6. What does First Corinthians' job mean to her?

7. With what greeting does Pilate welcome Milkman upon his return?

8. What does Milkman tell Pilate about the bones she found in the cave?

9. Why does Milkman decide to travel to Danville?

10. What does First Corinthians think has caused her lack of luck with men and marriage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The songs in this book are powerful points in the story and they relay different ways the characters feel about each other and the different ways the characters are connected.

Part 1 - Give three examples of the way song is used in this novel (besides the title).

Part 2 - Describe what each of these examples of song seem to say about those who are singing and about those who are sung to.

Part 3 - Obviously, the title is an example of song as well, but why do you think this title was chosen? What is its significance? Is it a strong title? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Gold seems to be the thing on many of the men's minds in this book. But while they are all unsuccessful, they still seem to long for that which they can not have.

Part 1 - Describe Macon's search for the gold in the story. What are his motivations for getting the gold?

Part 2 - Describe Milkman's quest for the gold in the story. What are his motivations?

Part 3 - Describe Guitar's quest for the gold. What are his motivations? What does it cause him to do? Why do you think he resorted to violence?

Essay Topic 3

There is a lot of foreshadowing in this novel, though it's not always clear at the time. Morrison's use of these 'hints' helps a reader see that the story is moving in the direction it says it is, even when it seems like the characters are unpredictable.

Part 1 - Describe three instances of foreshadowing in the story.

Part 2 - Why do you think Pilate is the character who is able to give the other characters many of the foreshadowing hints?

Part 3 - What does foreshadowing do for this story? Does it help the characters or does it hurt them? How?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 800 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample