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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. How does Mr.’s father feel about Shug living in the house?

2. How does Mr. react when he learns that Sofia is pregnant?

3. How old is Sofia when Harpo proposes to marry her?

4. Which of the following words does Shug use to describe Celie when they first meet?

5. When she returns home, how many children does Sofia now have?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Shug Avery come to live in Celie’s house, and how does Celie feel about this?

2. What is unique about the novel’s style, which is made apparent within the first few pages?

3. How does Celie come to own her very first dress, and what does it look like?

4. What happens when Harpo and Sofia see each other for the first time at the juke joint?

5. How does Celie try to protect Nettie from Pa?

6. Why is Mr. so emotional with Shug in his house?

7. How do Carrie and Kate react when they meet Celie for the first time?

8. Why does Sofia decide to leave Harpo, and how does he react to the news?

9. What changes about Harpo’s life after Sofia leaves him?

10. How does Harpo’s juke joint fare when it first opens?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Growing up, both Shug and Celie were told that they would amount to nothing: Celie was told she was ugly and Shug was told she was evil. How do you see these messages affecting the two women as they matured into adulthood? How did these messages ultimately bring the two women together? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of spousal abuse. What are the effects of abuse, specifically on women and gender roles? How does the reader see the cycle of abuse, particularly through Harpo’s character? What message is Walker sending about spousal abuse by making Mr. and Celie friends at the end of the novel? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the revelation that Pa is not Celie’s true father. How does this realization change her life, and how does she feel about herself when the truth is revealed. How did Celie’s birth parents die, and how might her life have been different had she grown up with them rather than with Pa? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

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