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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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 is afraid that people would want to read it.
(c) Her process does not work with a writer's notebook.
(d) She thinks writer's notebooks are an excuse to avoid actual writing.

2. In "Hard, True, and Lasting," Morrison says that what feeling is the first one writers feel when they begin to write?
(a) Gratitude.
(b) Independence.
(c) Love.
(d) Separateness.

3. In "The Writer Before the Page," Morrison explains what about the structure of her novels?
(a) She finds chapter and part designations unhelpful.
(b) She always begins with a careful outline.
(c) She dislikes nonlinear narrative.
(d) She is frustrated when the parts feel fragmentary.

4. In "The Site of Memory," Morrison proposes to show how memoir is similar to and different from what?
(a) Literary criticism.
(b) Poetry.
(c) History.
(d) Fiction.

5. In "The Site of Memory," Morrison says that a large part of her "literary heritage" is what?
(a) The Western canon.
(b) Fiction.
(c) Autobiography.
(d) Poetry.

6. In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison writes about not wanting to turn her readers into voyeurs. In this context, the word "voyeur" should be defined how?
(a) Someone who is more confident in their own knowledge than they should be.
(b) Someone afraid of encountering what is new or different.
(c) Someone who gets pleasure from watching something that is private or painful for others.
(d) Someone whose passion outweighs their judgment.

7. In "Chinua Achebe," Morrison says that she learned what from Achebe?
(a) How to focus her writing on her own truth instead of on nonwhite audiences' expectations.
(b) How to properly structure a narrative.
(c) The meaning of aspects of African culture that had frustrated and puzzled her.
(d) The importance of the Africanistic presence in American literature.

8. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison brings up Bernal's two models of Greek history in order to illustrate what point?
(a) The European model of Ancient Greece is the basis of Christianity's appropriation of Israel.
(b) Western Civilization's European foundation story rests on dubious scholarship.
(c) The Phoenicians are wrongly viewed as culturally close to ancient Jewish civilization.
(d) Ancient Greece's contributions to Western culture are not as significant as many claim.

9. In "Invisible Ink," what word does Morrison object to when it is applied to reading?
(a) Challenge.
(b) Art.
(c) Participation.
(d) Pleasure.

10. In "Rememory," what does Morrison say causes her to rely on memory rather than history?
(a) History is oriented toward the "male gaze."
(b) History isn't relevant to the topics she writes about.
(c) History is a biased record.
(d) History is dull and lifeless.

11. In "Tribute to Romare Bearden," Morrison focuses her attention on the relationship between what and Bearden's art?
(a) Her own writing.
(b) History.
(c) Music.
(d) Black nationalism.

12. In "Invisible Ink," what word does Morrison object to when it is applied to text?
(a) Fictive.
(b) Truthful.
(c) Dynamic.
(d) Stable.

13. In "The Trouble with Paradise," what does Morrison call "a realm that is no realm at all"?
(a) Slavery.
(b) Gender.
(c) History.
(d) Race.

14. Who is Margaret Garner?
(a) A Black woman who, in the mid-1800's, killed her own daughter.
(b) A critic who questioned Morrison's treatment of men in her works.
(c) A Mississippi civil rights leader from the post-Civil War era.
(d) The artist who supplied Morrison with the images that are the basis of Sula.

15. In "Introduction to Peter Sellars," Morrison praises his work for being what?
(a) Critical of racial hierarchies.
(b) Both accessible and challenging.
(c) Both feminist and scholarly.
(d) Aware of the boundaries between Self and Other.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the purpose of the Edvard Munch quote in "Memory, Creation, and Fiction"?

2. In "Memory, Creation, and Fiction," why does Morrison say that her work can properly be considered "Black" writing?

3. In "The Writer Before the Page," Morrison compares a successful text to what?

4. What does the title "Academic Whispers" refer to?

5. In "Invisible Ink," Morrison says that she deliberately introduces ambiguity into her novels for what purpose?

(see the answer keys)

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