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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 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?
(a) “God would save them.”
(b) “They were ugly.”
(c) “Their luck would change.”
(d) “They did not deserve any better.”

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

3. What does Pecola’s mother demand that Pecola’s father get out of bed and go get for her in their argument in Part II?
(a) Milk.
(b) Coal.
(c) Eggs.
(d) Flour.

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

5. 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 accurate.
(d) That the hatred is justified.

Short Answer Questions

1. The author states in the book’s Foreword, “Beauty was not simply something to behold; it was" what?

2. The narrator in Part II describes the adults as treating illness in children with what?

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

4. Who arrives to play with Jane at the end of the story in Part I?

5. What does Claudia recall doing with her baby dolls as a child in Part II?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reason does the Breedlove family stay in the apartment, according to the narrator in “Here is the House…”?

2. What commotion begins when Rosemary “tattles” on Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola for “being nasty” in “Autumn”?

3. How did author Toni Morrison perceive the Civil Rights Movement’s slogan “Black is Beautiful”? How is this seen in the novel?

4. What does the narrator discuss regarding property-owning black families and their motivations in “Autumn”?

5. How is the apartment of the Breedlove family described in “Here is the House…”?

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

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

8. What do Claudia and Frieda receive at the beginning of the school year in “Autumn”? What conversation consumes “the grownups” in the opening of this chapter?

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

10. What important symbolic images are presented in the opening “Dick and Jane” reader and the preface in Part I?

(see the answer keys)

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