View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. In "Invisible Ink," Morrison says that she deliberately introduces ambiguity into her novels for what purpose?

3. In "The Writer Before the Page," Morrison compares a successful text to what?

4. In "Introduction to Peter Sellars," Morrison says that Sellars wanted what kind of introduction?

5. In "Introduction to Peter Sellars," Morrison praises his work for being what?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. In “James Baldwin Eulogy,” what does Morrison describe as Baldwin's contribution to language?

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

4. In “Memory, Creation, and Fiction," what Black cultural aesthetic expectations does Morrison discuss as important in her work, and why is it important to her to use them?

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

6. 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?

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

8. In “Academic Whispers," what three reasons does Morrison say are poor reasons to include African American literature in the canon?

9. In “The Trouble with Paradise," what does Morrison mean when she says that fiction writers have to stare unblinking into the "realm of difference"?

10. In "On Beloved," Morrison discusses Sula and Beloved in the context of feminism; what is the relationship of these two texts to feminism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

In “The War on Error,” Morrison employs a conceit comparing governments to students. Explain how she develops this conceit and how it impacts an audience’s understanding of her central point in “The War on Error.”

Essay Topic 3

In "Grendel and His Mother," Morrison explains why Grendel's interior life and motivations do not matter in the context of the original work but do matter to modern audiences. Why does she believe this has changed over time, and what does this change say about changes in Western civilization?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 973 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample