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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 compare the beak of the vulture to? (Poem 4-"Jamaica")

2. What did the woman, in the third poem in the section titled "Drywater", take with her when she left?

3. How did Morrison describe the "couplings out in the night", in the fourth poem from the section titled "Jamaica"?

4. In the poem "Cassandra at the Well", what did Morrison say was happening?

5. What did Morrison say was built up again? (Poem 1-"Jamaica")

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Morrison say America did to him? ("Jamaica")

2. In the poem that began "Blessings", what is Morrison asking readers to do?

3. Why did Morrison have the principal of the school holding his nose? ("Jamaica")

4. What did Morrison say mated? ("Drywater")

5. In the second poem of the "Village Tapes" section, Morrison claimed that pilots are a problem. Why?

6. What is happening in the poem "Cassandra at the Well"?

7. What did Morrison say needed to be done about the situation that the pilots were in? (Poem 2-"Village Tapes")

8. In the ninth poem from the "Village Tapes" section, who is Morrison looking for?

9. Who did Morrison describe in the poem "Jamaica"?

10. In the poem "Science of Night", whom is Morrison addressing?

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 influenced by Nietzsche. Nietzsche's main philosophy was based upon living in reality and the advancement of an individual's culture. Although Morrison was enamored and influenced by Nietzsche, he did not live in reality given his extensive drug and alcohol use. Therefore, how did Morrison try to align his life (poetry) with the philosophy of Nietzsche? What poems spoke to living in reality? Which poems spoke to advancing one's culture? Did Morrison's drug/alcohol use create a reality for him? Use textual evidence from the poems to support findings.

Essay Topic 3

Address you feelings for Morrison. How do you feel about him as a man? Can you relate to the problems that he claimed to face? Where did you feel sorry for him? Where did you think that he may have been seen as distant and untruthful? Do you think his poetry created an honest portrayal of him as a person? Or did he always maintain a level that you could not relate to? Explain. Use textual evidence to answer the questions to support your answers.

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