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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Ellison, which of the following is true during times of war?
(a) African American soldiers are considered heros by other nationalities
(b) African American soldiers and white soldiers are equal.
(c) African American soldiers are valued less than white soldiers.
(d) African American soldiers have greater stature than white soldiers

2. What does the narrator tell Mr. Emerson that he wants to do with his future?
(a) become Mr. Bledsoe's assistant
(b) get a high paying position in the city
(c) become a teacher
(d) remain quietly in New York

3. Ellison's original story was written about which of the following?
(a) A sharecropper
(b) An African American author
(c) An African American pilot
(d) A slave

4. What does Mr. Norton give to Trueblood?
(a) A hundred dollar bill
(b) A bottle of whiskey
(c) Nothing
(d) A lecture on morality

5. The narrator's need to give speeches is an example of what literary device?
(a) foreshadowing
(b) audio imagery
(c) suspense
(d) irony

6. What is ironic about Trueblood's situation?
(a) He receives charity from the whites.
(b) Other men have done the same thing.
(c) The college wants him to leave.
(d) The college wants him to stay around.

7. Why does the narrator have difficulty getting along on his first two jobs?
(a) He is too highly educated for the job
(b) He is not correctly educated for the job
(c) He doesn't understand or fit in the blue-collar/union world
(d) He is the only black person on the job

8. What is the narrator's explanation for taking Mr. Norton to the Golden Day?
(a) The car was out of gas.
(b) Mr. Norton ordered him to go there
(c) Mr. Norton was driving
(d) He thought he could get medical help there

9. What does the narrator notice about the whites in the city?
(a) They appear to be making fun of him.
(b) They are rude to him.
(c) They are very nice to him.
(d) The hardly seem to notice him.

10. What is the vet's final advice to the narrator?
(a) Watch for opportunities to get close to people like Norton
(b) Find ways to manipulate people like Norton
(c) Defy people like Norton
(d) Stay away from people like Mr. Norton

11. Why does the narrator not tell the doctors his name after the procedure?
(a) He is too tired
(b) He doesn't realize that he hasn't said anything
(c) He can't remember it.
(d) He is trying to protect himself

12. Where does Bledsoe tell the narrator to go?
(a) to Mr. Norton
(b) back to the dormatory
(c) New York
(d) back to the Golden Day for the name of the doctor

13. What is most unusual about the narrator's residence?
(a) It is filled with over 1300 light bulbs
(b) It is a white apartment house
(c) It is in a basement
(d) It is free

14. What two groups of people must pay the price for being irresponsible?
(a) lazy people and cowards
(b) sleepwalkers and dreamers
(c) idealists and cowards
(d) dreamer and cowards

15. Why does Mr. Bledsoe compose his face into a bland mask?
(a) He doesn't want the narrator to realize how upset he is.
(b) He wants to see Mr. Norton's reaction before revealing his own feelings.
(c) He wants to hide the fact that he is angry with Mr. Norton.
(d) He doesn't want Mr. Norton to know he is angry with the narrator.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Ellison, which of the following is important for perseverance?

2. Which of the following two concepts, in combination, does Ellison see as a "raft of hope."

3. Why is the narrator initially concerned about finding work as soon as possible?

4. The dark tunnel is symbolic of the narrator's

5. What does the narrator see as he is watching people leave the chapel?

(see the answer keys)

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