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 the narrator translate "Cogito, ergo Boogieum" to English in Chapter 14 (183)?

2. What is described as the sister city to Algiers in "City Lites, An Interlude"?

3. What verb in Chapter 19 means to dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of a statement or thing?

4. How does the narrator refer to Hominy as he accompanied him in driving around town in Chapter 20?

5. Who are the three powerful and famous African-Americans that appeared at the meeting of the Dum Dum Donut Intellectuals in Chapter 19?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the neighborhood children gather in the narrator's yard in Chapter 15?

2. What is Wheaton Academy and what role does it play in the plot of The Sellout?

3. Who are the three famous living African Americans that attend the meeting in Chapter 19? How are their identities revealed?

4. How does the narrator respond to the autographed book he receives in Chapter 19? What is the book?

5. How does Foy Cheshire respond to the signs announcing the establishment of Wheaton Academy?

6. How is the narrator's satsuma tree employed as a symbol in the novel?

7. Where does the narrator describe his father taking him in order to show him that racism still exists?

8. What does the apple tree symbolize in Chapter 18?

9. Who is Charisma Molina and what is her profession?

10. What are the three lost cities that the narrator dictates to be sister cities to Dickens?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of community as an essential component of identity in The Sellout. In what ways do the inhabitants of Dickens come together in the course of the story? What brings them together? How are their identities shaped by the re-establishment of Dickens?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the narrative style of The Sellout. From what perspective is the story related? Is the narrative related in the present, past, or future tense? Who is the presumed audience of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze the character of Foy Cheshire in The Sellout. How would you describe Foy's relationship with the protagonist? What are Foy's actions, objectives, and obstacles in the story? What becomes of Foy in the end of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 726 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample