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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. Claudia says of the girls who come from places like Mobile and Aiken that they study “music to soothe” whom in Part III?

2. Which teacher does Frieda say called Bay Boy “incorrigival” in Part III?

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

4. Who is the gym teacher that Maureen describes as bow-legged in Part III?

5. What flowers does the narrator say even now hold no cheer for her in the spring in Part IV?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What are Claudia and Frieda’s feelings about Maureen Peal when she moves to Lorain in “Winter”?

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

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

8. How is Geraldine’s family described in “See the Cat…”? Upon what does Geraldine focus her affection?

9. How does the fresh cobbler come to be spilled in “Spring”? Who spills it?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define “narrative point of view,” and identify this in The Bluest Eye. Is the narrative of the “Dick and Jane” related in first, second, or third person? How does the narrative point of view change in the italicized preface in Part I? How does the narrative point of view and tense fluctuate within the novel?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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.?

(see the answer keys)

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