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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 "Faulkner and Women," what effect does Morrison say Faulkner has had on her writing?
2. In "Grendel and His Mother," Morrison notes that Beowulf is a part of Western literature's characterization of evil as what?
3. In "Goodbye to All That," what does Morrison say that she wants her work to disable?
4. What is one of the main subjects of Beloved?
5. In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison writes about not wanting to turn her readers into voyeurs. In this context, the word "voyeur" should be defined how?
Short Essay Questions
1. According to “The Writer Before the Page," why does Morrison use allusions to folktales in her writing?
2. In “Academic Whispers," what does Morrison say used to annoy her about being asked to speak about racism?
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 “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?
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. In “The Trouble with Paradise," what does Morrison mean when she says that fiction writers have to stare unblinking into the "realm of difference"?
8. In “God’s Language," what does Morrison say is the problem with trying to use modern language to describe Biblical concepts?
9. In “Invisible Ink," what does Morrison say bothers her about the association of the word "pleasure" with reading?
10. In “Academic Whispers," what three reasons does Morrison say are poor reasons to include African American literature in the canon?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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?
Essay Topic 2
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.
Essay Topic 3
In "On Beloved," Morrison offers a metaphorical comparison between an image or piece of language and a key, and compares untraveled literary territory to an area locked behind a large locked door. Explain what she means by this comparison and how it relates to her writing of Beloved.
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This section contains 1,078 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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