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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. For what purpose does the narrator say Delia had built and improved upon her little home?
(a) For her children.
(b) For her security.
(c) For her old age.
(d) For her husband's happiness.

2. What does Delia call Sykes's action of scaring her with the bullwhip?
(a) An injustice.
(b) A travesty.
(c) A joke.
(d) A sin.

3. What does Delia say she does for her pony that makes him belong to her?
(a) She brushes him.
(b) She fills his water trough.
(c) She feeds him.
(d) She shoes him.

4. When Joe Clarke says that there is no law in the world that will make a man act a certain way, what is that certain way he mentions?
(a) Decent.
(b) Loving.
(c) Conscientious.
(d) Faithful.

5. Where does Delia place the washtub when she returns from the yard with it in her hands?
(a) In the kitchen sink.
(b) On the back porch.
(c) On the bedroom floor.
(d) On the washbench.

6. Where does Sykes say he has been when Delia asks him where he has been with her horse and buckboard?
(a) He does not say.
(b) At the corner store.
(c) With Bertha.
(d) At church.

7. On what day of the week does Delia collect and deliver clothes using her pony and buckboard?
(a) Saturday.
(b) Wednesday.
(c) Monday.
(d) Sunday.

8. When one of the men's wives had repelled Sykes's advances, she had told him that Delia worked so hard that she bet everything in the house tasted like sweat and what?
(a) Grime.
(b) Lye.
(c) Soapsuds.
(d) Mud.

9. What does the narrator say that the men on Joe's porch usually would do with the cane-knots if it were not so stiflingly hot outside?
(a) Give them to the horses.
(b) Chew them.
(c) Swallow them.
(d) Hurl them.

10. When Sykes declares how tired he is of Delia and leaves the house, what does he do on his way out?
(a) Kicks the fence.
(b) Slams the back gate.
(c) Slams the front door.
(d) Bangs on the mailbox.

11. On what night of the week does Delia stay up late in order to get a head start on her work?
(a) Monday.
(b) Saturday.
(c) Sunday.
(d) Wednesday.

12. What object does Delia credit with paying for the house she and Sykes live in?
(a) Her blood.
(b) Her mother's diamond ring.
(c) Her horse.
(d) Her sweat.

13. What does Delia do with the clothes after Sykes steps on them?
(a) She stands between him and the clothes to protect them.
(b) She throws them at him.
(c) She takes them outside.
(d) She gathers them together again.

14. What does the narrator say that the men on Joe's porch do with the cane-knots on the day Sykes and Bertha come to the store, due to the extreme heat?
(a) They pile them in their laps.
(b) They let them dribble over the edge of the porch.
(c) They kick them out of the way.
(d) They let them be eaten by the dogs.

15. What simile does Hurston use to characterize Delia's throwing off of her most habitual character trait?
(a) Like a swatch of chiffon.
(b) Like an old snakeskin.
(c) Like a blown scarf.
(d) Like a lace collar.

Short Answer Questions

1. What adjective does the narrator use to describe Delia's washtub?

2. Where does Sykes say that he will kick the clothes the next time she brings them home?

3. When Sykes leaves and Delia feels certain that he will not be home until a certain time, when is that time?

4. When Delia tells Sykes she is not in the mood for a fight because she has just come from a particular place, what is that place?

5. What does Delia say Sykes had brought to their marriage?

(see the answer keys)

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