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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 "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?
(a) Meditation.
(b) Disrespect.
(c) Pragmatism.
(d) Wonder.

2. 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) Ancient Greece's contributions to Western culture are not as significant as many claim.
(c) Western Civilization's European foundation story rests on dubious scholarship.
(d) The Phoenicians are wrongly viewed as culturally close to ancient Jewish civilization.

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

4. In "Goodbye to All That," what does Morrison say was her motive for insisting on being identified as a Black writer from the beginning?
(a) She hoped to make an argument for Black universalism.
(b) She wanted to unambiguously reject white culture.
(c) She hoped to provoke a conversation about the viability of Black culture.
(d) She wanted to expand critical vocabulary to encompass territory within Black culture.

5. Who was James Baldwin?
(a) Toni Morrison's partner.
(b) A writer.
(c) A visual artist.
(d) A civil rights leader.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In "The Site of Memory," Morrison remarks on the absence of what in slave narratives?

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

4. In "Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," Morrison says that she was told that the two responses to chaos are what?

5. In "God's Language," what does Morrison say is the place of religion in African American culture?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “God’s Language," what does Morrison say is the problem with trying to use modern language to describe Biblical concepts?

2. In “Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," what confuses Morrison about Stein's portrayal of Rose?

3. In “James Baldwin Eulogy,” what does Morrison describe as Baldwin's contribution to language?

4. In "On Beloved," Morrison discusses Sula and Beloved in the context of feminism; what is the relationship of these two texts to feminism?

5. In “Memory, Creation, and Fiction," what Black cultural aesthetic expectations does Morrison discuss as important in her work, and why is it important to her to use them?

6. In “The Trouble with Paradise," what does Morrison mean when she says that fiction writers have to stare unblinking into the "realm of difference"?

7. In “Academic Whispers," what three reasons does Morrison say are poor reasons to include African American literature in the canon?

8. In “Introduction of Peter Sellars," what are the main points of Morrison's praise for Peter Sellars as an artist?

9. In “Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," Morrison says that the two responses to chaos are "renaming" and "violence." What does she mean by this?

10. In “Academic Whispers," what does Morrison say used to annoy her about being asked to speak about racism?

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