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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 kind of car is Rosemary sitting in while she eats bread and butter in the beginning of Part II?

2. Whose image is on the milk cup that Frieda brings to Pecola in Part II?

3. What do the narrator and her sister receive at the start of the school year in Part II?

4. What color is Jane’s dress in the story from Part I?

5. How much milk does Mrs. MacTeer complain about having disappeared from her refrigerator overnight in Part II?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How are Claudia’s feelings about Shirley Temple and about baby dolls illustrated in “Autumn”?

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

5. What foreshadowing is revealed by the narrator in the end of Part I?

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

7. How is Mr. Henry described in “Autumn”? What is his role in the MacTeer home?

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss ways in which the Breedloves’ apartment in “This is the House…” represents the character of Pecola Breedlove in the novel. What characteristics does Pecola share with the house? How are both the house and Pecola perceived by others in the town?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of “the other” in The Bluest Eye. How is Pecola a metaphorical representation of “the other”? How is her outsider status important to the novel’s narrator? Why do Frieda and Claudia attempt to make Pecola feel less like an outsider?

Essay Topic 3

Define the term “foreshadowing,” and discuss different reasons that an author may choose to use foreshadowing in his/her narrative. In what ways does foreshadowing develop suspense? What foreshadowing is presented in Part I of The Bluest Eye? How does the author’s use of foreshadowing here affect the reader?

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