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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 Delia say she had brought to her marriage to Sykes?
(a) Optimism.
(b) Love.
(c) Commitment.
(d) Faith.

2. What object does Delia pick up immediately after Sykes threatens her in the kitchen?
(a) A butcher knife.
(b) An iron skillet.
(c) A piece of crockery.
(d) A pair of scissors.

3. What kind of nuts had Sykes brought as a present to help him woo one of the men's wives?
(a) Peanuts.
(b) Cashews.
(c) Brazil nuts.
(d) Pecans.

4. What does the narrator say that Delia is able to "build...against her husband" (3) after she decides that he will reap what he sows?
(a) A spiritual earthworks.
(b) A wall of hatred.
(c) A decadent shroud.
(d) A code of silence.

5. What simile does Walter use to describe how pretty Delia had been as a young woman?
(a) A striped kitten.
(b) A speckled pup.
(c) A peacock.
(d) A two-dollar ribbon.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. 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?

3. Where does Sykes say he has been when Delia asks him where he has been with her horse and buckboard?

4. When Sykes declares how tired he is of Delia and leaves the house, what does he do on his way out?

5. For how long has Delia been doing people's laundry to bring in money?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the symbolism of the iron skillet.

3. What is shown about Delia's character traits in the very first paragraph of the story?

4. What is the reason for the listlessness of the men who gather on Joe Clarke's porch?

5. In what ways do the men on Joe Clarke's porch express contempt for Sykes?

6. What is the significance of Delia's comment that she does not want to fight with Sykes because she has just come back from church services?

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

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

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

10. In what season does the story begin its narrative and what does this choice by the author symbolize?

(see the answer keys)

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