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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 describe as having a "cold white neon bosom"? (Poem 4-"Jamaica")

2. According to the first poem in the "Village Tapes" section, who lied?

3. Where was liquor made to flow from? (Poem 13- "Village Tapes")

4. What did Morrison name as coinciding with a time of plenty? (Poem 4- "Drywater")

5. According to Morrison in the first poem in "Jamaica", what did grown men fear?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What did Morrison claim that he had to leave? ("Jamaica")

3. In the poem from the section "Jamaica", what did Morrison describe was happening?

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

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

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

7. In the first poem of the section titled "Drywater", how did Morrison describe the night?

8. In the first poem from "The Village Tapes" section, what state is the world in?

9. Morrison described the appearance of the the inhabitants of the island. How did Morrison describe the appearance of the men and women? ("Jamaica")

10. How did Morrison describe the vultures in the poem from the section "Jamaica"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Morrison claimed in the Self-Interview that he always wanted to write, but he was afraid of not being good at it. Do you think that Morrison succeeded at writing poetry, or that he (as he thought) failed? Why do you believe this? What helped him to succeed? Where did he fail? Support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

At the end of Morrison's self-interview, he stated that he wanted his poetry to "deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel". Do you think that he succeeded in his hopes? How did his poetry make you see and feel differently? Where did it fail to make you do this? Do you continue to be "limited"? How?

(see the answer keys)

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