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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. How did Morrison describe the young child's mind? (From the poem that began "Bird of prey")

2. Who did Morrison state was scattered on the highway bleeding? (From the poem that began "Bird of prey")

3. Who did Morrison call back in "Ode to LA"?

4. Who competed for the man's palms? ("Ode to LA")

5. From the poem that began "Why does my mind circle around you", what did Morrison say wondered what it was like to be "you"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Morrison describe the girl in "Orange County Suite"?

3. What did Morrison state that the "ancient ones" wanted? (In the poem that began "A vast and radiant beach & a cool")

4. What did Morrison ask of the bird of prey? (In the poem that began "Bird of prey, Bird of prey")

5. Why were the notebooks that Morrison kept in high school important?

6. What did Morrison say about the elimination of "space fillers" in an interview?

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

8. In the poem that began "An angel runs", what happened when the angel ran?

9. According to Morrison, what does "real poetry" do?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a section from "Wilderness" and discuss how the section comes together as a whole. What are the common themes that Morrison spoke about? How did Morrison use imagery to tie individual poems together? How did this help to bring the section together? Did the cohesion of the ideas/themes help to create a deeper understanding of what Morrison was trying to say? Why/Why not?

Essay Topic 2

Many times throughout the poems/reflections, Morrison used religious imagery. Discuss the religious imagery that Morrison used. What image did he use? How did it speak to the theme/mood of the poem? Why did the image work, or did it create confusion? Explain.

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?

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