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

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

3. Pauline Williams was one of how many children in her family?

4. Claudia says of the girls who come from places like Mobile and Aiken that they “hold their behind in for fear of a sway too” what, in Part III?

5. How did Pauline Williams injure her foot when she was young?

Short Essay Questions

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

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 the narrator describe her father’s face in the opening of “Winter”? What imagery is used?

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

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

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

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

8. What leads to Claudia and Frieda buying snacks at Miss Bertha’s in Part III?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Define the term “foreshadowing,” and discuss different reasons that an author may choose to use foreshadowing in his/her narrative. In what ways does foreshadowing develop suspense? What foreshadowing is presented in Part I of The Bluest Eye? How does the author’s use of foreshadowing here affect the reader?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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