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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 "Memory, Creation, and Fiction," why does Morrison say that her work can properly be considered "Black" writing?
2. In "The Source of Self-Regard," what image does Morrison say she uses to convey the horrors of slavery?
3. What does the title "Academic Whispers" refer to?
4. In "The Trouble with Paradise," Morrison says she knows how whiteness "matures and ascends the throne of universalism." What is the best descriptor of this phrase?
5. In "God's Language," Morrison uses the word "ruminating" to describe what?
Short Essay Questions
1. In “James Baldwin Eulogy,” what does Morrison describe as Baldwin's contribution to language?
2. In “The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison describe as some of the contradictions that jazz contains?
3. In “Grendel and His Mother," what does Morrison say is interesting about the Danes' reaction to Grendel, and what does she say this shows about the nature of evil?
4. In “Rememory," Morrison describes her writing process using memory and explains how it is similar to a thematic and narrative element in one of her books. What is her process, and which book's narrative does she see it reflected in.
5. In “The Trouble with Paradise" what reasons does Morrison give for leaving the racial identification of those in the Convent ambiguous?
6. In “Introduction of Peter Sellars," what are the main points of Morrison's praise for Peter Sellars as an artist?
7. In “James Baldwin Eulogy,” Morrison explains that Baldwin brought "three gifts." What is this an allusion to, and how does it function in this piece?
8. In “God’s Language," what does Morrison say is the problem with trying to use modern language to describe Biblical concepts?
9. In “The Site of Memory," what reasons does Morrison give for finding her inclusion in an anthology about memoir to be both strange and appropriate?
10. 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?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
In "Rememory," Morrison discusses the different public perceptions of Black and white artists. What are the differences she sees? Do you think that this is still true today? Give examples from literature, film, music, or the visual arts to support your claims.
Essay Topic 2
In “Home” and “Wartalk,” Morrison explores how social change and historical events can shape language. Choose a word that she analyzes in “Home” and a word that she analyzes in “Wartalk.” Explain what Morrison would say the two words have in common and what she would say is different between them.
Essay Topic 3
In “Moral Inhabitants,” Morrison lists several “Great Men” from American history and describes their views on race. Explain how this list functions in the larger context of “Moral Inhabitants.” What is the purpose of the list, and how does it accomplish its aims?
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This section contains 1,001 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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