View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What day does Sykes say he has almost forgotten it is when he is about to leave the store with Bertha?
(a) Saturday.
(b) Sunday.
(c) Monday.
(d) Friday.

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

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

4. When Delia first sees the soap box Sykes has brought home, next to what object is the soap box sitting?
(a) The garden hose.
(b) The stairs.
(c) The washtub.
(d) The chair.

5. What does the narrator say happens to Delia's fury as she regards the snake just before she confronts Sykes at the dinner table about getting rid of the snake?
(a) Grows larger.
(b) Dissapates.
(c) Builds into something resembling contempt.
(d) Grows bloodier.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of rattlesnake does Sykes say the snake is?

2. 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?

3. How much does Joe Clarke ask each man to give him in order to pay for the watermelon they will all share?

4. What adverb is used to indicate the manner in which Sykes pushes Delia when he wants her to see the rattlesnake he has brought home?

5. What causes the snake to come alive and start to rattle incessantly?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Sykes accuse Delia of being insincere about her fear of snakes when he brings home the rattlesnake?

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

3. What does Sykes mean when he tells Delia not to ask him for anything and comments on her attempt to "goin' roun' trying 'tuh be so damn asterperious"? (6)

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

5. How does Delia try "to be blind and deaf" (5) to Sykes's gallivanting around town with Bertha?

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

7. What is Hurston's purpose for alluding to Gethsemane and the rocks of Calvary during the period of conflict with Sykes?

8. How do Delia's actions and feelings in regard to the rattlesnake change once she sees its fangs wrapped around the wire mesh of its box?

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

10. What is the significance of the snake baring its "scimitar" (6)-like fangs at Delia?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,070 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample