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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. John Gardner's novel Grendel uses the original story as a source for what?
2. In "God's Language," what does Morrison say is the place of religion in African American culture?
3. In "Invisible Ink," Morrison says that she deliberately introduces ambiguity into her novels for what purpose?
4. In "The Source of Self-Regard," what image does Morrison say she uses to convey the horrors of slavery?
5. In "Faulkner and Women," What reasons does Morrison give for not being able to speak to the conference about Faulkner?
Short Essay Questions
1. 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?
2. In “Tribute to Romare Bearden," Morrison praises Bearden's work as a dialogue between artists; how does she see his work impacting her own?
3. In “God’s Language," what does Morrison say is the problem with trying to use modern language to describe Biblical concepts?
4. In “The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison describe as some of the contradictions that jazz contains?
5. In "On Beloved," Morrison discusses Sula and Beloved in the context of feminism; what is the relationship of these two texts to feminism?
6. 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?
7. In “Invisible Ink," Morrison proposes that current ways of thinking about the interaction between reader and text are missing an element: the "invisible ink" that can manipulate the reader. Explain what she means by this.
8. In “The Trouble with Paradise" what reasons does Morrison give for leaving the racial identification of those in the Convent ambiguous?
9. In “Academic Whispers," what does Morrison say used to annoy her about being asked to speak about racism?
10. In “The Site of Memory," what does Morrison say about how image and memory interacted for her in relation to her father's death and Song of Solomon?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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 2
In “Black Matter(s),” Morrison argues that American literature and “Americanness” have been shaped by the slave trade and by racism against Black Americans. Explain how she supports this claim and then evaluate the strength or weakness of her argument.
Essay Topic 3
In “Literature and Public Life,” Morrison claims that television has a narrative power that is harmful to society. Do you agree with this in whole or in part, or do you disagree? What is your reasoning for your position?
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This section contains 1,051 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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