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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Black Matter(s)," Morrison says that we can understand something important about literary "whiteness" by studying what?
(a) Literary Blackness.
(b) History.
(c) Changes to the canon over time.
(d) Black writers.

2. In "The Future of Time," what does Morrison say it seems like "the future" means to people today?
(a) Infinity.
(b) 20-40 years from now.
(c) Despair.
(d) Nothing at all.

3. "Noblesse oblige" is a philosophy that urged the nobility to do what?
(a) Prevent strangers from entering their lands.
(b) Seize power from the church.
(c) Accumulate as much land as possible.
(d) Share their wealth.

4. To whom does Morrison address her remarks about the dead of September 11, 2001?
(a) To all Americans.
(b) To the terrorists responsible for the deaths.
(c) To the families of the dead.
(d) To the dead themselves.

5. In "Race Matters," Morrison says that tow of the thematic concerns of her work are race and what?
(a) Liberty.
(b) History.
(c) Home.
(d) Gender.

6. "The War on Error" is a speech given to what group?
(a) Sarah Lawrence College.
(b) Amnesty International.
(c) The Newspaper Association of America.
(d) ArtTable.

7. In the story that opens "The Nobel Lecture in Literature," where does the old woman say the answer to the children's question is?
(a) In her eyes.
(b) In their hands.
(c) In their hearts.
(d) She doesn't actually answer their question.

8. Mass migration, according to Morrison, causes what to happen?
(a) Fear of foreignness.
(b) Failure of the state.
(c) Expansion of identity to include the "other."
(d) The surveillance state.

9. In "Black Matter(s)," what aspect of American slavery does Morrison claim makes its impact so long-lasting in American culture?
(a) The skin color of the slaves.
(b) Laws against teaching slaves to read and write.
(c) The religion of slave-owners.
(d) The breakup of slave families.

10. In her "Sarah Lawrence Commencement Address," Morrison says that when you hate you become what?
(a) A victim.
(b) A monster.
(c) A slave.
(d) An addict.

11. In "Cinderella's Stepsisters," Morrison's central claim is that women should not do what?
(a) Oppress other women.
(b) Risk the gains women have made by trying to move forward too quickly.
(c) Participate in corrupt institutions.
(d) Undermine feminism by being too nurturing.

12. Where does Morrison say we erroneously turn for answers to contemporary social problems?
(a) Science.
(b) Religion.
(c) Literature.
(d) The past.

13. In "The Future of Time," Morrison uses repetition of what phrase?
(a) "We are being bullied into understanding."
(b) "Art is temporal."
(c) "What will we think during those longer, healthier lives?"
(d) "The future is already catastrophe."

14. In "Literature and Public Life," what does Morrison say shapes our understanding of community?
(a) Literature from outside the canon.
(b) The media, especially television.
(c) Government propaganda.
(d) Literature from the canon.

15. In "The In "The Nobel Lecture in Literature," Morrison speculates about how much more knowledge we would have if scholarship was not held back by what?
(a) Oppressive language.
(b) Governmental interference.
(c) A lack of funding.
(d) Exclusion of Black scholars.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The Slavebody and the Blackbody," when Morrison suggests that writing about slavery cuts away at the scar tissue the blackbody uses to hide the slavebody, what technique is she using?

2. In "The Habit of Art," Morrison praises the artist Toby Lewis for what?

3. In "Women, Race, and Memory," Morrison uses the phrase "internecine conflict." In context, this phrase means what?

4. The Radiance of the King is a novel by Camara Laye, an author of what origin?

5. What is it that Morrison says distinguishes globalism from previous movements?

(see the answer keys)

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