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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Black Matter(s)," Morrison retells the story of William Dunbar as an example of what?
(a) A prototypical American white male.
(b) A critic who understands the significance of Black art.
(c) A victim of state violence.
(d) A slave who struggled to make his voice heard.

2. Morrison claims that after WWII, the language used to discuss war became more what?
(a) Childish and simplistic.
(b) Persuasive and subtle.
(c) Elevated and heroic.
(d) Propagandistic and angry.

3. In her "Sarah Lawrence Commencement Address," Morrison says that one of her aims is to do what?
(a) Criticize.
(b) Provoke.
(c) Remember.
(d) Reassure.

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

5. According to Morrison, how does fascism arise?
(a) By insisting that all people be treated identically.
(b) With sudden revolution.
(c) When minority groups gain power over the majority.
(d) As a series of small, orderly steps.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the story that opens "The Nobel Lecture in Literature," what do the children ask the old woman about?

2. In "Cinderella's Stepsisters," Morrison's central claim is that women should not do what?

3. In "Black Matter(s)," Morrison says that we can understand something important about literary "whiteness" by studying what?

4. In her "Sarah Lawrence Commencement Address," what irony is Morrison's discussion of "Feed the Children" campaigns intended to illustrate?

5. In "Literature and Public Life," Morrison opens by joking that because she was once a student at the place she is now speaking, what might happen after her speech?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Racism and Fascism,” what does Morrison say are the characteristics of fascism?

2. In “Literature and Public Life," what does Morrison blame television for, and what does she propose as a solution?

3. In her "Sarah Lawrence Commencement Address,” how does Morrison define dreaming and why does she think it is important?

4. In “The Individual Artist," what is the paradox that Morrison says artists face?

5. In “Black Matter(s)," what point is Morrison illustrating with the excerpt she includes from Bailyn's Voyagers of the West?

6. In “The Dead of September 11,” Morrison alludes to a famous speech. What speech does she allude to and what is the purpose of this allusion?

7. In “Black Matter(s)," what does Morrison mean by the term "Africanism"?

8. In “Black Matter(s)," what main points does Morrison make about the alleged race-neutrality of American history?

9. In “A Race in Mind: The Press in Deed," how does Morrison connect the idea of "special interests" with the racial identification of subjects in news stories?

10. In her speech “Cinderella’s Stepsisters," what is the purpose of the allusion to Cinderella?

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