View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. "The Trouble with Paradise" is mostly about what?
(a) The language needed to describe paradise.
(b) Characterization difficulties Morrison had while writing Paradise.
(c) The difference between older and more modern ideas of paradise.
(d) The plot of Morrison's novel Paradise.

2. In "Goodbye to All That," to what other group's struggle does Morrison compare the struggle of Black writers to claim territory that is both identity-specific and identity-neutral?
(a) The poor.
(b) Women.
(c) Immigrants.
(d) Muslims.

3. In "Grendel and His Mother," what claim does Morrison make for Beowulf?
(a) It is an artifact of an irrelevant time.
(b) It functions as a mirror for our own time.
(c) It exposes how values have shifted in Western culture.
(d) It equals our modern knowledge of reality.

4. John Gardner's novel Grendel uses the original story as a source for what?
(a) A feminist interpretation of Grendel's mother.
(b) A meditation on the nature of heroism.
(c) A retelling from Grendel's point of view.
(d) A psychological study of motherhood.

5. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison comments that race was once used to exclude Blacks, but now that they want their race represented, they are told it does not exist. What function does this detail perform?
(a) It adds a comic note that breaks the tension of a series of upsetting images.
(b) It introduces a nostalgic tone that supports Morrison's argument with an element of pathos.
(c) It is a straw-man version of the counterclaims Morrison is trying to undermine.
(d) It ironically illustrates the constantly shifting rationale for exclusion.

6. In "God's Language," Morrison says that she does not keep a writer's notebook because of what?
(a) Her novels serve the same purpose as a writer's notebook.
(b) She thinks writer's notebooks are an excuse to avoid actual writing.
(c) She is afraid that people would want to read it.
(d) Her process does not work with a writer's notebook.

7. In "Invisible Ink," Morrison says that she deliberately introduces ambiguity into her novels for what purpose?
(a) To create suspense.
(b) As a thematic reminder that the world itself is ambiguous.
(c) To make the reader participate in the construction of the novel.
(d) As an emotional challenge to the reader.

8. In "Memory, Creation, and Fiction," why does Morrison say that her work can properly be considered "Black" writing?
(a) Because she works from within established traditions of Black art and culture.
(b) Because scholars classify it as such.
(c) Because she is Black.
(d) Because her characters are Black.

9. In "Chinua Achebe," what does Morrison say she discovered at Africa House?
(a) African American art.
(b) African literature.
(c) A series of lectures by Chinua Achebe.
(d) A writer who helped her meet Chinua Achebe.

10. What is one of the main subjects of Beloved?
(a) Women's control over their own bodies.
(b) Friendships among women.
(c) The difference between education and wisdom.
(d) The justice system.

11. In "On Beloved," Morrison says that what field of study drew her to the subject matter of Beloved?
(a) History.
(b) Literature.
(c) Philosophy.
(d) Science.

12. In "Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," Morrison calls the "merging of forms" one of the key aspects of what literary movement?
(a) Romanticism.
(b) The Harlem Renaissance.
(c) Modernism.
(d) Postmodernism.

13. In "Hard, True, and Lasting," Morrison says that she can tolerate being alienated from the dominant culture because she knows what?
(a) She will grow through surrendering to another culture.
(b) Strangers cannot touch the things she loves.
(c) Her isolation will cause her to understand better what is valuable in Black culture.
(d) The modern world is dangerous and corrupt.

14. Which is the best definition of "churlish" as used in "Unspeakable Things Unspoken"?
(a) Scholarly, didactic.
(b) Remote, unobtainable.
(c) Innocent, childlike.
(d) Rude, mean-spirited.

15. In "God's Language," Morrison uses the word "ruminating" to describe what?
(a) The prayers of her childhood friend.
(b) Her admiration for Black women.
(c) The kind of paradise revealed in her books.
(d) Her contemplation of images.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison recounts being asked how to teach one of her books when what was true?

2. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison says that she sees a reflection of African-American cultural traditions in what form of literature?

3. In "Rememory," Morrison complains that a racist society has what effect on her as a writer?

4. In "Invisible Ink," what word does Morrison object to when it is applied to reading?

5. In "Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," what element does Morrison say is an aspect of the European American response to chaos lacking in the indigenous response?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 773 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample