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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Delia mean when she says that she will stay in the house until she is "toted out foot foremost"? (2)
(a) Until she dies.
(b) Until the house burns down.
(c) Until she is arrested.
(d) Until she sells the house.

2. The narrator describes Delia's shoulders as thin and what?
(a) Stooped.
(b) Bent.
(c) Strong.
(d) Sloped.

3. Where does Delia say Sykes would disappear to with all of his wages during the first year of their marriage?
(a) Sarasota.
(b) Orlando.
(c) Tampa.
(d) Myrtle Beach.

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

5. When Delia goes into the yard to retrieve the washtub, what action does Sykes take inside the house?
(a) He pours coffee over her sorted laundry.
(b) He hides her sorted laundry in the closet.
(c) He kicks her sorted laundry back into one pile.
(d) He throws the sorted laundry into the backyard.

6. 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.

7. What does Delia tell Sykes will one day kill her?
(a) Sykes' physical abuse.
(b) The heat of midsummer.
(c) The physical labor of her job.
(d) Sykes' foolishness.

8. 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?
(a) City Hall.
(b) Church.
(c) The corner store.
(d) Bertha's house.

9. When Delia tells Sykes that she has been taking in laundry the whole time they have been married, what question does he immediately ask her?
(a) Whether dinner is ready.
(b) If she has salted the stew.
(c) Where his share of the profits have gone.
(d) How the subject involves him.

10. What adjective does the narrator use to describe Delia's washtub?
(a) Shiny.
(b) Dented.
(c) Galvanized.
(d) Rusty.

11. What does Delia say Sykes had brought to their marriage?
(a) A longing after the flesh.
(b) Violence.
(c) Anger.
(d) Lies.

12. The narrator describes Sykes's choice of the laundry pile on which to step using which adjective?
(a) The biggest.
(b) The cleanest.
(c) The whitest.
(d) The tidiest.

13. Against what object does Sykes strike his match?
(a) The matchbox.
(b) The sole of his boot.
(c) His corduroy breeches.
(d) The fireplace mantel.

14. What title does the narrator ascribe to Delia's job of doing other people's laundry?
(a) Maid.
(b) Laundress.
(c) Wash-woman.
(d) Tailor.

15. When Delia picks up an object and strikes a pose after being threatened by Sykes, what does the narrator state as the action that Sykes refrains from performing, though he usually would perform it right away in such a situation?
(a) Leaving the house.
(b) Striking Delia.
(c) Calling the magistrate.
(d) Yelling at Delia.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what day of the week does Delia collect and deliver clothes using her pony and buckboard?

2. What verb does the narrator use to describe what Delia's pose in the kitchen does to Sykes?

3. Where does Delia place the washtub when she returns from the yard with it in her hands?

4. When the narrator states that Delia lies awake thinking about debris cluttering a certain kind of trail, what adjective is used to describe that trail?

5. Elijah says that Sykes has beaten Delia enough to kill how many women?

(see the answer keys)

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