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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Race Matters," Morrison says that when she was younger she found something in writing that she could not find in life itself--what was it?

2. In "Black Matter(s)," Morrison says that a key "absence" in writing about racism is the omission of its impact on whom?

3. In "Literature and Public Life," what does Morrison say shapes our understanding of community?

4. In "Race Matters," Morrison says that tow of the thematic concerns of her work are race and what?

5. In "Women, Race, and Memory," Morrison uses the phrase "internecine conflict." In context, this phrase means what?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Race Matters," what story does Morrison tell about the ending of Beloved, and why does she tell this story?

2. In “Harlem on My Mind," what does Morrison point to as the causes of the failure of the New York Metropolitan Museum's 1968 exhibit on Harlem?

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

4. In “War Against Error," what does Morrison propose as a new "curriculum," and what does she hope it will accomplish?

5. In “Race Matters," why does Morrison say that she decided she needed a "home" and not just a "house"?

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 “Wartalk,” how does Morrison say that globalization differs from colonialism and internationalism?

8. In “The Slavebody and the Blackbody,” how does Morrison differentiate between these two kinds of bodies, and why does she bother?

9. In “Black Matter(s)," in what ways does Morrison say Africanism has become a "disabling virus"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "God's Language," Morrison suggests that religious ideas, and the idea of paradise particularly, are difficult to convey in a modern context. Why does she believe this and what is her proposed solution?

Essay Topic 2

In “The Nobel Lecture in Literature,” Morrison uses a folktale to structure her lecture. Explain how she interprets and then reinterprets this folktale.

Essay Topic 3

In “Women, Race, and Memory,” Morrison evokes the figure of Harriet Tubman. Who is Harriet Tubman, and what associations does Morrison hope to create by telling an anecdote about her?

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