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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison say is a problem with writing novels that are based in history?
(a) The historical research can start to take over the story.
(b) There is not much accurate history available.
(c) No one analytically questions history.
(d) Readers are alienated by history.

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

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

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

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

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

7. In "God's Language," what does Morrison say is the place of religion in African American culture?
(a) It historically marginalized Black people.
(b) It's a powerful example of the merging of African culture with European culture.
(c) It is central to the culture.
(d) Its influence has weakened significantly.

8. Morrison's novel "Paradise" is set where?
(a) In an unnamed kingdom.
(b) In Jerusalem.
(c) In an all-Black town.
(d) In New York during the Jazz Age.

9. 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.

10. In "The Trouble with Paradise," Morrison claims that in the modern world, what has become "trivial"?
(a) Paradise.
(b) Religion.
(c) Morailty.
(d) Justice.

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

12. In "The Site of Memory," Morrison remarks upon what tone common in slave narratives?
(a) Sarcasm.
(b) Objectivity.
(c) Fury.
(d) Despair.

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

14. In "Tribute to Romare Bearden," Morrison notes what about African American visual art?
(a) It has been criticized more rigorously and unfairly than the other arts.
(b) Its relationship to the other arts has received insufficient attention.
(c) It developed later than other arts, such as literature.
(d) It is more central to Blackness than other arts.

15. In "Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," Morrison says that she was told that the two responses to chaos are what?
(a) Naming and violence.
(b) Critique and acceptance.
(c) Imagination and reshaping.
(d) Despair and hope.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Hard, True, and Lasting," Morrison says that she identifies the things she loves and values by doing what?

2. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison says that arguments against the inclusion of African American writings in the canon follow a sequence that ends with what belief?

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

4. 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?

5. John Gardner's novel Grendel uses the original story as a source for what?

(see the answer keys)

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