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

Short Answer Questions

1. What two activities does the narrator say that Delia and Sykes now do in silence since their complete impasse?

2. What tool does Joe Clarke offer to lend the men so they can cut the watermelon for sharing?

3. What adjective does Old Man Anderson use to describe his view of what kind of man Sykes had always been?

4. What verb is used to indicate the manner in which Delia goes underneath Sykes's arm when he is blocking the doorway?

5. Why does Delia pay little attention to the soap box when she first sees it?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What two differing reasons does Sykes give for why he was able to catch the six-foot rattlesnake in the first place?

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

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

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

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

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

8. How does the author demonstrate the village's viewpoint regarding Sykes's keeping of the rattlesnake?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the role of death within the short story Sweat.

Essay Topic 2

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 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 1,057 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample