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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. What does Boots remind Lutie of?
(a) Of a cat stalking its prey.
(b) Of a dog in heat.
(c) Of a foolish man with an outrageous dream.
(d) Of a stand-up man.

2. Which statement best describes Jones's emotions?
(a) Anger, always on the verge of erupting.
(b) Happiness, easily read all over his face.
(c) Indifference, consistently preventing him from connecting with people.
(d) Hopelessness, often stopping any personal progress.

3. What does Jones discover when he gets home from Lutie's?
(a) He discovers that Min and another man are in his apartment.
(b) He discovers that Min isn't home and that all her best clothes are gone.
(c) He discovers that his electricity has been shut off.
(d) He discovers that Min has prepared a fabulous dinner.

4. Which of the following is a job Jones has held?
(a) Mechanic.
(b) Night watchman.
(c) Lounge singer.
(d) Cashier.

5. What does Boots tell Lutie when she asks him how he avoided the draft?
(a) He says that something is wrong with his heart.
(b) He says that he was too young at the time of the draft.
(c) He says that something is wrong with his ear.
(d) He says that he has asthma.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Bub ask Lutie if he can read while she's at The Casino?

2. How does Mrs. Hedges respond to Min's attempt to leave her some money?

3. What does Lutie notice about the super as he writes out her receipt?

4. Why does everyone stop to hear Lutie sing along with the jukebox?

5. Why does Lutie think Jim took another woman?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what Junto's means to the different people in the neighborhood.

2. After reading Chapter 5, it is clear what motivates Min. Using the knowledge you've gained about Min, compare her to Lutie. How do the women differ? What characteristics do they share?

3. How does Lutie's grandmother's insistence that the butchers in Harlem use embalming fluid to give their meat a nice fresh color reflect her grandmother's overall view of life?

4. The author paints Jones as an obsessive character. He snoops around Lutie's apartment fantasizing about her and bothering her possessions. What does this behavior seem to foreshadow?

5. In Chapter 2, Lutie returns from Mrs. Chandler's and arrives in Harlem relieved to be away from white people. How does Lutie believe that white women and men look at her?

6. Lutie first begins to measure people and their intentions in Chapter 1. How do you rate Lutie's ability to read people? Do you think she is accurate in her summations?

7. Chapter 4 more clearly depicts Jones' obsession with Lutie. In fact, "she made him more aware of his loneliness that ate into him day and night." How might Lutie's mere appearance open up such a void in Jones?

8. What is likely the reason Bub refuses to tell his mother he's afraid of the dark?

9. Lutie secures the job at the Chandlers', but she is unable to share her joy with her husband. Why is this?

10. While riding with Boots, Lutie comes to the conclusion that it would be better to be born with no brain than to understand everything you cannot reach. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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