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

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

3. In what kind of establishment does Bertha live while having her rent paid in Eatonville?
(a) A bed-and-breakfast.
(b) A brothel.
(c) A revival tent.
(d) A boarding house.

4. Who owns the disreputable boarding house in Eatonville?
(a) Joe Clarke.
(b) Elijah Moseley.
(c) Sally Anderson.
(d) Della Lewis.

5. When Sykes tells Delia that it is no use "puttin' on airs makin' out out lak" (6) she is feeling a certain emotion in response to the snake, what is that emotion?
(a) Pride.
(b) Fear.
(c) Shyness.
(d) Bravery.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who first entreats Joe to bring a melon from the store and to slice it up for the men?

2. What idiom does Sykes use to describe his suggested action for anyone who does not like the snake?

3. When Delia confronts Sykes at the dinner table about removing the snake, what two behaviors of his does she say she has put up with for many years?

4. What beverage does Sykes drink slowly and deliberately before he responds to Delia's request that he remove the snake?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Delia's efforts to remain "blind and deaf" (5) to Sykes's adulterous actions thwarted?

2. What is Delia's reason for not trying to get rid of Bertha in some way in order to solve the problems in her marriage?

3. What arguments do the men present when they are trying to get Joe Clarke to bring out a watermelon for them to share?

4. How does the snake's behavior change once it has taken two or three days to digest its large meal of frogs?

5. What causes a "determined silence" (4) to fall over the porch when the men are about to slice the watermelon?

6. How does Sykes use the occasion of bringing home the rattlesnake in order to once again attack Delia's physical appearance?

7. How does Sykes go about showing the rattlesnake to Delia after he has brought it home?

8. What is ironic about Sykes's statement to Bertha that the town is his and that she can have it if she wants it?

9. What is Sykes's reply to Delia's insistence that he remove the rattlesnake from their home?

10. How does Delia react once Sykes both refuses to remove the rattlesnake and threatens to beat her?

(see the answer keys)

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