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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. To which of the following does the narrator compare the drummer?
(a) A signpost.
(b) A buoy.
(c) A lighthouse.
(d) A foghorn.

2. To get away from what had Sonny first left Harlem?
(a) Mafiosi.
(b) Drugs.
(c) The narrator.
(d) Memories.

3. On what day does Sonny invite the narrator to hear him play?
(a) Friday.
(b) Sunday.
(c) Saturday.
(d) Thursday.

4. What instrument does Sonny determine to play?
(a) Drums.
(b) Guitar.
(c) Piano.
(d) Bass.

5. To what does the narrator compare Creole’s musicians?
(a) Swans.
(b) Geese.
(c) Chickens.
(d) Ducks.

Short Answer Questions

1. From where does Sonny send mail to the narrator?

2. What musician does Sonny applaud?

3. How old is Grace when she dies?

4. On what does Sonny purpose to rely for education?

5. In what season does Grace die?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator depict the common experience of hearing music?

2. Why does Sonny make a point of smoking in front of the narrator after his mother’s death?

3. What effect does the narrator notice the sidewalk revival has on its attendees?

4. What does the narrator perceive Creole asserting “the blues were all about” (47)?

5. What effect does Grace’s death have on Isabel?

6. What revelation does Sonny report from listening to the sidewalk revival?

7. Why does the narrator express misgivings about Sonny going into music?

8. How does Isabel realize that Sonny has left?

9. How does the narrator depict the performer’s experience of music?

10. Why does the narrator posit that passers-by doubt the holiness of those conducting the sidewalk revival?

(see the answer keys)

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