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

2. What does the narrator say streams down like a "million hot arrows" (5) during the time when Delia and Sykes are not speaking to one another?
(a) The raindrops.
(b) The heat.
(c) The rays of the sun.
(d) The tense moments.

3. What two activities does the narrator say that Delia and Sykes now do in silence since their complete impasse?
(a) Read and work.
(b) Work and sleep.
(c) Sleep and eat.
(d) Eat and rest.

4. Why does Delia pay little attention to the soap box when she first sees it?
(a) Because she knows Sykes must have brought it there.
(b) Because she often keeps old soap boxes lying around.
(c) Because it was just another piece of refuse littering her yard.
(d) Because the reverend had come over earlier in the day and had used it as a stool.

5. What event does Sykes cite as the only one that will prompt him to get rid of the snake?
(a) When winter comes.
(b) When he decides to get rid of the snake.
(c) When the snake bites someone.
(d) When hell freezes over.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. Before Delia begs Sykes to kill the rattlesnake he has brought home, what does she ask him to do with it?

3. What object does Walter say is best to use when charming a rattlesnake?

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

5. What simile does the narrator use to describe the snake's fangs curving into the covering of its soap box?

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

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

5. What plans does Sykes make with Bertha and what is the significance of these plans?

6. When Old Man Anderson suggests that the men kill Sykes, what is the men's reaction?

7. What does Delia say is different about Bertha in comparison to other women with whom Sykes has had affairs?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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