View a FREE sample

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 attitude change after Shug moves in?

2. What is Shug’s occupation?

3. What does Celie do when she overhears Shug and Mr. having sex on the night before Shug moves out?

4. What does Harpo blame for his strange bruises?

5. What does Shug dedicate to Celie?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Mr. and Celie come to be married?

2. How many children does Celie give birth to, and what happens to them?

3. How does Mr. react when Nettie comes to live with him, and why does she end up leaving?

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

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

6. What obsessive behavior does Harpo start, and what does this suggest about his character?

7. What happens when Squeak tries to convince the warden to let Sofia out of jail early?

8. How does Mr.’s family feel about having Shug in the house?

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

10. How does Sofia end up in jail?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Celie’s life change when she moves to Memphis? How does her relationship with Shug change, and what does she realize about herself when Shug is on tour? How do the townsfolk react when Celie returns home for Sofia’s mother’s funeral? What is significant about their reaction? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Celie’s sexuality. How was she first introduced to sex, and how did that introduction affect her future relationships? What did Shug teach Celie about her sexuality, and how did this lesson change Celie for the rest of the novel? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

What is significant about the day that Celie and Nettie are reunited? What major obstacles did they overcome to be together again in America? How does Celie feel at the end of the novel, and what message does this send to the reader about the value of family? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 905 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample