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

2. How long after their wedding had Sykes brutally beaten Delia?
(a) Two years.
(b) Three years.
(c) Three months.
(d) Two months.

3. What day of the week is considered the Sabbath within traditional Christianity?
(a) Friday.
(b) Sunday.
(c) Saturday.
(d) Thursday.

4. Who says he would have married Delia himself if Sykes had not beaten him to it?
(a) Jim.
(b) Walter.
(c) Joe.
(d) Elijah.

5. What substance does Delia demand that Sykes stop grinding into the clothes?
(a) Dirt.
(b) Mud.
(c) Dust.
(d) Grime.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Delia goes into the yard to retrieve the washtub, what action does Sykes take inside the house?

2. 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?

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. What does Delia call Sykes's action of scaring her with the bullwhip?

5. What kind of women does Sykes declare to Delia that he hates?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What behaviors does Delia display that demonstrate her familiarity with Sykes's abusive behaviors?

4. 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?

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 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. In what ways does Sykes's character emerge within the story's very first featured encounter between Sykes and Delia?

8. Why does Delia's knowledge that Sykes is out with her pony and carriage worry her?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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