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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. The narrator in Part II describes the adults as treating illness in children with what?
(a) Contempt.
(b) Sympathy.
(c) Mercy.
(d) Empathy.

2. In the book’s Foreword, the author writes that the book arose from a conversation she had with a childhood friend who wished that she had what?
(a) Freckles.
(b) Green eyes.
(c) Blond hair.
(d) Blue eyes.

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

4. What does the narrator say has become of Pecola’s father in Part I?
(a) He has died.
(b) He’s become President.
(c) He has left town.
(d) He has become rich.

5. Who does Frieda say told her about menstruation in Part II?
(a) Claudia.
(b) Pecola.
(c) Sammy.
(d) Mildred.

Short Answer Questions

1. The author describes The Bluest Eye as having begun as a bleak narrative of what in the Foreword?

2. 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?

3. According to Toni Morrison in the book’s Foreword, “The extremity of Pecola's case stemmed largely from" what?

4. In what year does the author say The Bluest Eye began to take the form of a book in the Foreword?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. Is the setting of the novel focused on a specific societal group, or is the setting inclusive of different racial groups?

2. How does the narrator compare the state of being “put out” with being “outdoors” in “Autumn”?

3. What information is related to the reader in the brief italicized preface before “Autumn”?

4. Describe the narrative style of the novel. Who narrates the opening passages before “Autumn”?

5. What does Pecola pray for every night, according to the narrator in “Here is the Family…”? Why?

6. According to some critics, the three versions of the reader presented on the first page of The Bluest Eye represent three lifestyles presented in the novel. What does the first version represent?

7. According to some critics, the three versions of the reader presented on the first page of The Bluest Eye represent three lifestyles presented in the novel. What does the second version represent?

8. What is the primary setting for the novel? How is the author connected to this setting?

9. Who can be seen in Part I as characters that face trouble assimilating into “white society’s standards of beauty”?

10. How is the MacTeer home described in “Autumn”? How are the relationships between the children and the adults characterized?

(see the answer keys)

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