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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. Where did Cholly Breedlove first find work when he came to Lorain, Ohio?

2. Mr. Henry tells Claudia and Frieda that the prostitutes who just left were what in Part III?

3. When Frieda tells Claudia what happened with Mr. Henry, Mr. Henry is compared to what townsperson in Part IV?

4. What is Maureen Peal said to have “even bought and liked” in Part III?

5. What were the names of Pauline Williams’s parents?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Frieda say is the real reason she is crying when Claudia finds her in bed after Mr. Henry’s been kicked out in Part IV?

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

4. How are Pauline Williams’s early years described in “See Mother…”?

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

6. What are Pauline Breedlove’s feelings about motherhood, according to the narrator in “See Mother…”?

7. What happens when Frieda, Claudia, and Maureen Peal encounter some schoolboys taunting Pecola in “Winter”?

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

9. How does the conflict between Maureen, Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola escalate in “Winter”?

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

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 and discuss the major movie stars discussed in the narrative in Part II. When was Shirley Temple’s height of fame? What other actresses are discussed? What do they share in common? How is Pecola’s name related to the movies?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss racial discrimination within black communities in the United States. How and why, in the novel, is Maureen Peal depicted as being of a higher stature because of the lighter color of her skin tone? What discrimination does Maureen face in her community and in the white community?

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