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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 actress does Claudia claim to like, causing her sister and Pecola to give her a puzzled look and consider her incomprehensible, in Part II?

2. On what street had Mr. Henry been living before taking a room from the MacTeer family?

3. What magic trick does Mr. Henry perform when he meets the narrator and her sister in Part II?

4. What does Toni Morrison refer to as the “most delicate member of society” in the book’s Foreword?

5. How is Jane’s father described in the story in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. 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?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the feelings of guilt and shame that Frieda experiences after her encounter with Mr. Henry. Do you think that Frieda’s parents, friends, or other adults could have made it easier for Frieda by telling her that it wasn’t her fault? Why do you believe the adults did not do this?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of “ugliness” in the novel. As opposed to “beauty,” how is ugliness defined by the narrator? What do you view “ugliness” as? How is ugliness portrayed by the Breedlove family?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Claudia’s hatred of baby dolls and the metaphorical meaning behind this hatred. How does Claudia explain her disdain? What does she do with the dolls she’s given? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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