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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who pays Bertha's rent in Eatonville?
(a) Bertha's ex-husband.
(b) Sykes.
(c) Walter.
(d) Joe Clarke.

2. What does the narrator say streams down like a "million hot arrows" (5) during the time when Delia and Sykes are not speaking to one another?
(a) The raindrops.
(b) The rays of the sun.
(c) The heat.
(d) The tense moments.

3. In what town does Delia attend church at the time Sykes is keeping the rattlesnake?
(a) Woodbridge.
(b) Orlando.
(c) Eatonville.
(d) Apalachicola.

4. When Delia comes home and finds Sykes standing in the kitchen doorway, she says that her only two options are to stoop under his arm or to do what?
(a) Stare him down until he moves.
(b) Ask him to move.
(c) Shove him out of the way.
(d) Go around to the back door.

5. What adjective does Old Man Anderson use when he says that Sykes has gotten too something to live?
(a) Proud.
(b) Uppity.
(c) Mean.
(d) Biggety.

6. What term is used to describe the color of the rattlesnake's fangs?
(a) Eggshell-white.
(b) Chalky-white.
(c) Jaundice-yellow.
(d) Off-white.

7. What adjective does Old Man Anderson use to describe his view of what kind of man Sykes had always been?
(a) Overbearing.
(b) Proud.
(c) Haughty.
(d) Mean.

8. What object does Walter say is best to use when charming a rattlesnake?
(a) A shotgun.
(b) A flute.
(c) A club.
(d) A basket.

9. What tool does Joe Clarke offer to lend the men so they can cut the watermelon for sharing?
(a) His switchblade.
(b) His machete.
(c) His meat knife.
(d) His bowie knife.

10. Why does Delia pay little attention to the soap box when she first sees it?
(a) Because the reverend had come over earlier in the day and had used it as a stool.
(b) Because she knows Sykes must have brought it there.
(c) Because it was just another piece of refuse littering her yard.
(d) Because she often keeps old soap boxes lying around.

11. Sykes assures Bertha that he is the "swellest man in the whole" (5) what?
(a) Country.
(b) County.
(c) State.
(d) Town.

12. What does the narrator say the sun has done to turn July to August?
(a) Scorched it into August.
(b) Melted it into August.
(c) Burned it into August.
(d) Smashed it into August.

13. How much coffee does Sykes ask Joe Clarke to sell him?
(a) Three pounds.
(b) Two pounds.
(c) Half of a pound.
(d) A pound.

14. What does the narrator say "pleased him for Delia to see" (4) when Sykes is ordering at Joe Clarke's store?
(a) His mistress accompanying him out in public.
(b) His determination to ignore her.
(c) His flagrant abuse of her pony with his bullwhip.
(d) The spending of her money.

15. What idiom does Sykes use to describe his suggested action for anyone who does not like the snake?
(a) Kiss his grits.
(b) Hit the dirt.
(c) Hit the grit.
(d) Fly a kite.

Short Answer Questions

1. For how long has Bertha been living in Eatonville on the day Sykes takes her to the store?

2. Who is the one villager mentioned by name who comes to the house to see Sykes's snake?

3. What adjective does Sykes delightedly use to describe Bertha's shape?

4. When the men all grunt in approval in response to Old Man Anderson's suggestion that they kill Sykes, what does the narrator say then melts with the heat?

5. Delia tells Sykes that she now hates him to the same degree that what?

(see the answer keys)

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