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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Literature and Public Life," Morrison says that the public interest has been redefined as what?
(a) Class warfare.
(b) Extremism.
(c) Private interest.
(d) Special interests.

2. In "Women, Race, and Memory," Morrison uses the phrase "internecine conflict." In context, this phrase means what?
(a) Hostility between the classes.
(b) A conflict that hurts both sides.
(c) Conflict between women.
(d) A philosophical difference that divides a group.

3. In "Cinderella's Stepsisters," Morrison says that we must use freedom to do what?
(a) Overthrow corrupt institutions.
(b) Educate ourselves.
(c) Create art.
(d) Free others.

4. Morrison compares the Africa of the Western imagination to what legendary monster?
(a) The Sphinx.
(b) Leviathan.
(c) Grendel.
(d) Medusa.

5. In "The Future of Time," Morrison worries that we increasingly turn to the past for what?
(a) Visions of what our future could be.
(b) Evidence to confirm our biases.
(c) Answers to current problems.
(d) Philosophical wisdom.

6. In "The Habit of Art," Morrison praises the artist Toby Lewis for what?
(a) Taking on the perspective of the "other."
(b) Creating great religious art.
(c) Disrupting the status quo with her provocative work.
(d) Placing art in public workplaces.

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

8. In her "Sarah Lawrence Commencement Address," what irony is Morrison's discussion of "Feed the Children" campaigns intended to illustrate?
(a) Creative imagination being limited by our own wealth and power.
(b) Generosity towards the vulnerable turning to violence as soon as the vulnerable try to advocate for themselves.
(c) The easy manipulation of well-educated people by supposedly uneducated people.
(d) The desire of wealthy Americans to spread a culture that other nations cannot afford.

9. In "Cinderella's Stepsisters," Morrison points out that in the original Grimm's version, the stepsisters were what?
(a) The instigators of Cinderella's torment.
(b) Beautiful, powerful women.
(c) Oppressed just like Cinderella.
(d) Desperate for their mother's love.

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

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

12. 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?
(a) Logos.
(b) Figurative language.
(c) Allusion.
(d) Ethos.

13. Morrison's reading of fiction about Africa written by non-African writers reminded her of what part of her childhood?
(a) When the church collection plate was passed to raise money for Africa.
(b) The first time she was called a racial epithet.
(c) When she struggled to understand a movie set in Asia.
(d) Her own immigration to America from Ghana.

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

15. In "The Slavebody and the Blackbody," Morrison says what about slavery?
(a) Most modern Americans do not have any historic ties to slavery.
(b) Slavery's consequences have been the same throughout history.
(c) Writing about it can be cruel to modern African Americans.
(d) It is an ancient practice that is not always tied to racism.

Short Answer Questions

1. What form of literature does Morrison discuss at length in "Black Matter(s)"?

2. In "Literature and Public Life," what does Morrison say shapes our understanding of community?

3. In "Literature and Public Life," Morrison says that we live in the age of what?

4. "The War on Error" is a speech given to what group?

5. According to "Harlem on My Mind," the term "postblack" refers to whom?

(see the answer keys)

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