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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 does Frieda say her mother hit Mr. Henry with in Part IV?

2. In what magazine does Claudia imagine the girls who come from places like Mobile and Aiken reading in Part III?

3. The narrator compares her father’s eyes to a “cliff of snow threatening to” what, in Part III?

4. What does the narrator say Aunt Jimmy died of in Part IV?

5. What notion does the narrator refer to in Part IV as “Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought”?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator distinguish the difference between “colored girls” and “black girls” in “See the Cat…”?

2. How does the narrator describe the blooming flowers and twigs in the opening of “Spring”?

3. Where do Frieda and Claudia go to find Pecola after their exchange with Maginot Line in “Spring”? How is this setting described?

4. How does Mrs. Breedlove respond when she finds the spilled cobbler in “Spring”?

5. Who do Claudia and Frieda encounter leaving their house when they return from Miss Bertha’s store in Part III?

6. What misunderstanding at the ice cream parlor contributes to the growing tension between Claudia and Maureen in “Winter”?

7. “See the Cat…” begins with a discussion of what “types of girls”? Where are these individuals from?

8. What does Mr. Henry tell Claudia and Frieda about his unexpected guests in Part III? What do the girls do?

9. What are the perceptions of Claudia and Frieda as they wait to leave with Pecola from her mother’s workplace in “Spring”?

10. How is Cholly Breedlove’s childhood described in “See Father…”? Who raised Cholly?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the setting of the novel and examine the different aspects of this time and place in history. What was the political atmosphere in America like in 1941? When did the U.S. enter WWII? How were race relations characterized at this time? How did race relations differ in the north and south in the U.S.?

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

Describe and analyze the style, tone, and language used in the opening “Dick and Jane” story. How does the story change in each of the retellings? What is symbolic about the changes in the story’s language and style? Do you think the author intends for the reader to examine race as an undercurrent in the story? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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