View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. For how long has Bertha been living in Eatonville on the day Sykes takes her to the store?

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?

3. When Sykes says that one reason he caught the snake easily was because it had just had a meal, what does he say it had just eaten?

4. What adjective does Walter use to describe what type of customers he and the other men are during the men's requests for watermelon?

5. When the snake starts to rattle incessantly inside its soap box, movements in what two locations cause him to rattle?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. For how long has Bertha been in Eatonville and how does she support herself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of the Chorus within the short story. What is the author's purpose for including the group of men who gather on the porch of Joe Clarke's store?

Essay Topic 2

What is signified by Delia's worry that Sykes is out with her horse and carriage at the start of the story and how does her worry relate to the themes inherent in the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the rising action and climax stages of the story and discuss how the story's themes are brought forth within these two plot arc stages.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,113 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample