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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. Why don’t the Olinka people educate their daughters?

2. How does Shug react when Celie starts crying about the rape and incest she suffered from?

3. How does Shug react when she learns that Celie is no longer writing letters to God?

4. What is the highest position for a woman in the Olinka village?

5. How does Pa initially react when he first sees Celie on his property?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Millie think Sofia is ungrateful?

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

4. Who is Mary Agnes?

5. Why did Shug’s parents kick her out of the house when she was growing up?

6. How does Shug picture God?

7. Why was Shug so mean to Celie when she first moved in?

8. How does life change for Celie when she moves to Memphis?

9. How did the reverend and his wife treat Nettie when they first met her?

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

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

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