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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the narrator of Part I?
(a) Poland.
(b) Pecola Breedlove.
(c) Frieda MacTeer.
(d) Claudia MacTeer.

2. The author states in the book’s Foreword that in constructing the narrative she did not want to do what to "the characters who trashed Pecola and contributed to her collapse"?
(a) Make them seem human.
(b) Justify their actions.
(c) Dehumanize them.
(d) Make them into martyrs.

3. With whom had Mr. Henry been living before taking a room from the MacTeer family?
(a) Miss Erkmeister.
(b) Miss Poland.
(c) Miss Marie.
(d) Miss Delia Jones.

4. In what year does the author say in the Foreword that she began the “story” that would eventually lead to The Bluest Eye?
(a) 1944.
(b) 1962.
(c) 1957.
(d) 1938.

5. In the story of Jane from Part I, Jane’s family lives in a house that is what colors?
(a) Blue and green.
(b) Gold and blue.
(c) Green and white.
(d) Green and gold.

6. What does Toni Morrison refer to as the “most delicate member of society” in the book’s Foreword?
(a) An old woman.
(b) A child.
(c) An old man.
(d) A new bride.

7. Who is described as “still trotting up and down Sixteenth Street talking to herself” in Part II?
(a) Auntie Julia.
(b) Miss Bertha.
(c) Baby Jenny.
(d) Miss Forrester.

8. How old is Sammy when he lives by the pizza parlor in the narrator’s description from Part II?
(a) 11.
(b) 6.
(c) 7.
(d) 14.

9. In the second narrative of the Jane story in Part I, what is missing?
(a) Every other word.
(b) Punctuation and capitalization.
(c) Spacing.
(d) Every noun.

10. According to the narrator in Part II, who “spent all their energies, all their love, on their nests”?
(a) “Propertied black people.”
(b) “Rich white people.”
(c) “Poor Hispanic people.”
(d) “Poor white people.”

11. The author states in the book's Foreword that when one is "hated for things we have no control over and cannot change," it is some consolation to know what?
(a) That the hatred is unjustified.
(b) That the hatred is not accurate.
(c) That the hatred is justified.
(d) That the hatred is accurate.

12. Who calls Mrs. MacTeer and tells her that Claudia, Pecola and Frieda are “playing nasty” in Part II?
(a) Miss Dunion.
(b) Rosemary.
(c) Paula Williams.
(d) Ada Williams.

13. What does Claudia recall doing with her baby dolls as a child in Part II?
(a) Playing house with them.
(b) Adoring them.
(c) Dismembering them.
(d) Playing dress-up with them.

14. How is Jane’s father described in the story in Part I?
(a) “Old and senile.”
(b) “Big and strong.”
(c) “Skinny and feeble.”
(d) “Weathered and angry.”

15. On what street had Mr. Henry been living before taking a room from the MacTeer family?
(a) Fifth Street.
(b) Thirteenth Street.
(c) Second Street.
(d) Eighth Street.

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator in Part II says that her family’s house is “old, cold” and what color?

2. The author states in the Foreword that her concept of breaking the narrative of the novel into parts "didn't work" because many readers "remain touched but not" what?

3. What does Jane’s mother do when Jane asks her to play in the story from Part I?

4. The narrator states in Part II, “The Breedloves did not live in a storefront because they were having temporary difficulty adjusting to the cutbacks at the plant. They lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed” what?

5. Who owns the grocery store down the street from Pecola in Part II?

(see the answer keys)

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