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. What vice deeply affects Eleanor Jane in her home?

2. What is the name of Billy’s sister, Millie’s daughter?

3. According to the letters, how does Nettie feel being away from Celie?

4. What does Mr. compare Celie to when she returns home from Memphis?

5. What instrument does Germaine, Shug’s new boyfriend, play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is rootleaf and why is it important to the Olinkans?

2. How does Billy get hurt on the day that Celie visits Sofia at the mayor’s house?

3. What does Celie imagine that God looks like, and how does this affect her relationship with Him?

4. How does Shug picture God?

5. What is the most eye-opening experience for Nettie when she is in New York?

6. How do the Olinka people first react to their new missionaries (including Nettie)?

7. How is the outside world changing Olinka?

8. How does Shug identify Nettie’s hidden letters?

9. Why is Sofia’s mother’s funeral unusual?

10. How has Grady’s life changed since moving to Memphis?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare / contrast Celie’s family life at the beginning of the novel and the end of the novel. What causes the major changes that affect Celie’s life? Do you think the ending whitewashes the effects of the abuse and trauma Celie suffered? Why or why not? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

How does Nettie’s life change when she moves in with Samuel and Corinne? What suspicions do the reverend and his wife have about their new charge? How are these suspicions ultimately resolved, and how does that change Nettie’s life once again? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 854 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample