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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. How does the narrator get past the drunken vet in the road?
(a) He pretends he is about to run over the vet.
(b) He tells him he has General Pershing in the car.
(c) He pays the vet a bribe.
(d) He claims to be someone of importance.

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

4. What does the narrator recall having been given instead of a cigarette?
(a) marijuana
(b) a cigar
(c) a beating
(d) liquor

5. Ellison's primary struggle in writing the book was
(a) Accepting the concept that nothing could really be done to change society
(b) Allowing the hero to fail
(c) Finding a way for the hero to succeed.
(d) Giving the hero sufficient depth of character

6. Why is Brockway hostile toward the narrator?
(a) The narrator approaches him with a bad attitude.
(b) He has heard of the narrator's mistake.
(c) The narrator has difficulty following instructions.
(d) He thinks the narrator is there to take his job.

7. What does the narrator fear is the reason for his inability to get an appointment with the trustees?
(a) He fears there may not be any jobs after all.
(b) He thinks the secretaries are not telling him the truth.
(c) He thinks no one is seeing the letters he submitted.
(d) He fears a conspiracy.

8. Which of the following two concepts, in combination, does Ellison see as a "raft of hope."
(a) democracy and truth
(b) compassion and equality
(c) equality and art
(d) art and democracy

9. What kind of speeches has the narrator given from the stage in the chapel?
(a) Phony speeches with notes supplied by white men.
(b) Speeches that flattered the whites.
(c) Genuine speeches that expressed how he felt.
(d) Speeches that expressed his frustration in cultural symbolism.

10. What, ironically, makes the narrator's white bosses distrustful of him?
(a) his background and education
(b) his lack of experience
(c) his color
(d) his attitude

11. The veteran doctor claims to have been beaten for what?
(a) failing to fulfil his duty
(b) saving a life
(c) returning to the states
(d) getting drunk

12. According to Ellison, for what have African Americans historically had to fight?
(a) Their freedoms
(b) The right to fight
(c) The right for education
(d) The right for fair employment

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

14. How does the vet react when Mr. Norton tries to explain his interest in the college?
(a) The vet praises Mr. Norton.
(b) The vet accuses Mr. Norton of ulterior motives.
(c) The vet accuses Mr. Norton of deception.
(d) The vet mocks Mr. Norton.

15. When the narrator goes to see Mr. Emerson, who does he actually see?
(a) an unnamed individual
(b) Mr. Emerson's son
(c) Mr. Emerson's assistant
(d) Mr. Emerson's secretary

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator tell Mr. Emerson that he wants to do with his future?

2. Bledsoe tells the narrator that he should not worry about

3. What truth does the vet tell to the narrator that the narrator does not yet understand?

4. The narrator's pondering of his upcoming punishment is an example of what literary device?

5. What had Mr. Trueblood done prior to his disgrace?

(see the answer keys)

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