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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. Who is Margaret Garner?

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

3. In "Academic Whispers," who does Morrison say should be asked to speak about racism?

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

5. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison notes that she almost titled the essay something else--what?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “The Trouble with Paradise" what reasons does Morrison give for leaving the racial identification of those in the Convent ambiguous?

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

3. In “The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison say made her uncomfortable about the letters she received from students, and why did it make her feel this way?

4. In “Invisible Ink," what does Morrison say bothers her about the association of the word "pleasure" with reading?

5. In “The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison describe as some of the contradictions that jazz contains?

6. In “Faulkner and Women," what does Morrison say Faulkner's influence on her has been?

7. 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?

8. In “Unspeakable Things Unspoken," who does Morrison credit with opening up the canon, and how would she like to see it further expanded?

9. According to “Goodbye to All That: Race, Surrogacy, and Farewell," what have been the changes over time in the literary handling of relationships between women of different races?

10. In “Unspeakable Things Unspoken," what does Morrison say she is trying to evoke with the image of nightshade in the beginning of Sula?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, when he says, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here,” he is referring to the importance of his own speech versus the significance of the dead of the Battle of Gettysburg. Explain at least three similarities in tone and/or content to Morrison’s “The Dead of September 11.”

Essay Topic 2

In “Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes,” Morrison offers a critique of the relationship of Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe to the natural world. Explain the basis of her critique and evaluate the strength of the evidence she offers in her discussion of each author.

Essay Topic 3

In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison discusses the image of a bit--a kind of torture device used to silence slaves. Explain how she incorporates this into Beloved--how she conveys the idea to the reader and why she makes the choices she does.

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