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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. What did Morrison say the body would be carried up through to heaven?("Ode to LA")

2. Who raced down the beach? (From the poem whose first line was "A vast radiant beach & a cool")

3. What did Morrison throw away that he kept through high school and college?

4. What grade, in school, did Morrison write his first poem?

5. What did Morrison say the "bleached sun" was needed for?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the poem that began "Well I'll tell you a story of whiskey", what did Morrison say about how the "whole thing began"?

2. What happened at the beginning of the poem "Ode to LA"?

3. What did Morrison state happened to the angel man in the poem "Ode to LA"?

4. Why did Morrison state that poetry meant so much to him?

5. Why did Morrison call an interview an "existential moment"?

6. What were the different ways that Morrison referred to Jones in "Ode to LA"?

7. In the poem "Power", what did Morrison claim that he could do? (Name three things).

8. In the poem "Ode to LA", what did Morrison state was going to happen to Jones' body?

9. In the poem that began "Why does my mind circle around you", what did Morrison say was wrong with the dog?

10. Who is Ophelia in the poem "Ode to LA"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the final section of the book "As I Look Back", Morrison claimed that he was stunned by the forgetting of his past. Discuss the relation of Morrison's poetry in sections prior to the last section. How does it seem confusing that Morrison claimed to forget his past, but have a vivid enough memory to write the image-filled poetry that packed all of the previous sections? What could have Morrison been speaking about? Explain using combination of textual evidence and personal understanding.

Essay Topic 2

Morrison was very traumatized by the sight of the dead Native American Indians on the side of the road. Choose 3 poems and discuss how this trauma translated into poetry. How did Morrison use the imagery of what he saw on the highway? What impression did this sight leave on Morrison? How did the poem speak to Morrison's feelings about what happened?

Essay Topic 3

Morrison stated that he was very influenced by the image of the dead Indians on the side of the road. It is here where some may say Morrison became obsessed with death. Chose three of the poems whose themes speak to that of death. How did Morrison convey his feelings regarding death in the poem? How did he feel about the coming of death? Did he seem afraid or comforted with death in the poem?

(see the answer keys)

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