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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. 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?

2. The author describes the burgeoning self-esteem of children as “before their ego has” what, in the book’s Foreword?

3. Who is the narrator of Part I?

4. Mrs. MacTeer exclaims during her diatribe in Part II, “I got about as much business with another mouth to feed as a cat has with” what?

5. According to the narrator in Part II, who “spent all their energies, all their love, on their nests”?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who takes control of the situation when Pecola suddenly begins menstruating in Part II? How?

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

3. 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?

4. Describe the “Dick and Jane” reader presented in Part I. How does this excerpt change in each retelling?

5. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the author’s choice of character names in the novel. What do you think the significance is of names like “Breedlove,” “MacTeer,” and “Fisher,” among others? Do you think these names were chosen for a specific reason? If so, what reason?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the symbolism presented in “Autumn” and discuss the different meanings of the symbols presented. What are symbols that represent the theme of “growing up” in the novel? How does Pecola’s first menstruation represent this theme metaphorically?

Essay Topic 3

What adjectives and descriptive words are used in “See the Cat…” to describe the “types of girls” who come to Lorain from places like Mobile, Marietta, etc.? How do these girls differ from the “black girls” that Claudia and Frieda consider themselves? Do you think that the narrator views the girls as better than them, or simply as perceived as better?

(see the answer keys)

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