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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 is the name of the woman who Ginger begins spending time with in Chapter 19?

2. Where does Audre find a job as an x-ray machine operator?

3. How old is Audre when she has her first lesbian sexual experience?

4. What does the woman who lives with Audre and Muriel do before leaving their home?

5. What does Audre say her flirtations must be as a part of the New York lesbian scene?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the Interlude: The Last of My Childhood Nightmares described in the book?

2. How is Audre's work as an X-ray technician described in the book?

3. How is Audre's near-rape described in Chapter 23?

4. How is Muriel's affair with Toni described in the book?

5. What happens to Muriel to cause her split with Audre in the book?

6. How is Audre's mental state described after she moves to Stamford?

7. What political advancements lead to Audre moving back to the U.S. from Mexico?

8. How does Audre describe her job at the New York Public Library?

9. What causes Audre to drop out of college?

10. How is Audre's first time making love with Ginger described in the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author makes an interesting choice in the book by highlighting many true historical events throughout the text and offers her own opinions and reactions to them.

1) Why does the author often combine her own personal experiences alongside historical events such as Pearl Harbor?

2) What can we learn about the importance that political freedom has for the author based on her portrayal of McCarthyism in the book?

3) What can we learn about Audre's political and social beliefs based on her support of the Rosenbergs while they are on trial, especially given the ways she is able to identify with them?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the importance that poetry and storytelling have in the book. How does the author use these devices as an outlet to express her own frustrations and desires about her social surroundings and humanity in general?

Essay Topic 3

The subject of race is one seen on many different levels throughout the author's life.

1) How is Audre's view of race first discovered and what impact does her experiences with segregation as a child appear to have on her views of race later in life?

2) How is race categorized differently in Harlem as opposed to other parts of the U.S. and what traits are present there to make it so unique?

3) What role does Audre's race play in defining her own character and her actions in life?

(see the answer keys)

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