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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. In front of what kind of eatery is the sidewalk revival?

2. Who rails at Sonny about truancy?

3. To what does the narrator compare the outside world?

4. What instrument does the narrator initially think Sonny will play?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. How does Isabel realize that Sonny has left?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

To what genre other than jazz fiction might “Sonny’s Blues” be considered to belong? What in the text supports that identification? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

Sources attest to the presence of “Sonny’s Blues” on must-read lists. Assuming that such status reflects popularity, what accounts for the popularity of the short story? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

Explicate the significance of the name of any one character in the text.

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