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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. Who is described as a “competent midwife and decisive diagnostician” during Aunt Jimmy’s illness in Part IV?

2. The narrator says in Part IV, “But to find out the truth about how dreams die, one should never take the word” of whom?

3. Who came and said that Frieda’s father was going to jail, causing Frieda to punch her in Part IV?

4. What kind of lotion does Claudia say the girls from places like Mobile and Aiken use in Part III?

5. What does Mrs. MacTeer say “ate up” the prostitutes named China and Poland in Part IV?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

7. How is Maureen Peal described when she is first introduced in “Winter”?

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

9. To whom do Claudia and Frieda turn in order to obtain whiskey in “Spring”? Why?

10. What exchange takes place between Maginot Line and Claudia and Frieda in “Spring”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the character of Claudia MacTeer as the narrator of much of the novel. How old is Claudia in the opening of the narrative? Do you like this character? Why or why not? How does Claudia change in the course of the story?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

In Part I, the narrator claims, “There is really nothing more to say--except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how.” What do you think the differences are between “why” and “how” in literature and in life? Do you think that the narrator effectively answers these questions in the narrative?

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