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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. When Sykes tells Delia that he has promised "some other men" (2) that he will not allow Delia to do laundry for white people, whose name is the only one he mentions?
(a) Dave.
(b) Gawd.
(c) Joe.
(d) Elijah.

2. What adjective does the narrator use to describe Delia's pose when she picks up the object after Sykes threatens to hit her?
(a) Menacing.
(b) Defensive.
(c) Murderous.
(d) Foreboding.

3. About what task does Sykes state his lack of care about whether Delia ever gets the task done or not?
(a) Whitewashing the house.
(b) Cooking dinner.
(c) Sweeping.
(d) Laundry.

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

5. What adjective does Sykes use to describe Delia just before he steps into the room where she is sorting laundry?
(a) Aggravating.
(b) Annoying.
(c) Solicitous.
(d) Dissembling.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What simile does Hurston use to characterize Delia's throwing off of her most habitual character trait?

3. 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?

4. Where does Delia say Sykes would disappear to with all of his wages during the first year of their marriage?

5. Against what object does Sykes strike his match?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Joe Clarke's pronouncement that some men treat women like pieces of sugar-cane?

2. Why does Delia stay up so much later on Sunday nights than on any other night of the week and how does Sykes find fault with this practice?

3. Before Delia's decision to stand up to Sykes by raising the iron skillet in a defensive pose, how does she react to his verbal abuse?

4. Describe the symbolism of the iron skillet.

5. What is ironic about Sykes's stating that his reason for ordering Delia to cease taking in laundry from white folks is that he has promised God that she will do so?

6. What does Sykes's bullwhip symbolize within the story?

7. How is the reader made aware that Delia used to love Sykes and still could if he would only change his behavior?

8. How is foreshadowing incorporated into the very first encounter between Delia and Sykes?

9. What is demonstrated about Sykes's character when the narrator states, "It pleased him for Delia to see" (3) him ordering for Bertha at the store?

10. At what point does the author show the first change in Delia's character and how does she portray this change?

(see the answer keys)

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