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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What bit of advice from the young Mr. Emerson does the narrator actually heed?
(a) to forget about Mr. Bledsoe
(b) to return to the college
(c) to call Liberty Paints and ask for a job
(d) to realize that he has no identity

2. How do the boys react to the naked girl?
(a) They are embarrassed.
(b) They are amused
(c) They are fascinated.
(d) They become angry.

3. What makes the narrator homesick when he first gets to New York?
(a) a message from Mr. Norton
(b) the letters he carries
(c) a Gideon Bible
(d) the sight of other black people

4. In spite of losing his identity, what does the narrator retain?
(a) a desire for revenge
(b) the memory of Mr. Norton
(c) an urgency to find a job
(d) his naive outlook on life

5. What is the real purpose of the Reverend's speech?
(a) To create a sense of awe in relation to Dr. Bledsoe
(b) To help the students understand how important the college is to the black community.
(c) To indoctrinate the students regarding the religion of the college.
(d) To help the students appreciate the Founder's real sacrifice

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following represents the narrator's philosophy?

2. Of what does the vet accuse Mr. Norton?

3. What is the narrator's explanation for taking Mr. Norton to the Golden Day?

4. What was the topic of the narrator's graduation day speech?

5. What is most unusual about the narrator's residence?

Short Essay Questions

1. What lie does Dr. Bledsoe expect the narrator to tell?

2. Why was the narrator doomed to fail at the paint factory?

3. How has the narrator ended up in the factory hospital? How is he being treated once he gets there?

4. What does Mary Rambo want the narrator to do?

5. Why does Mr. Norton give Jim Trueblood $100?

6. What does Ellison mean when he says that for African Americans, all wars are "wars within wars."

7. Why does the drug store have the pork chop and grits special?

8. Explain the irony of the sign "Keep American Pure with Liberty Paints."

9. In what way, according to the veteran, is the narrator likely to become a casualty?

10. Why do the grandfather's dying words make the narrator feel guilty about receiving praise?

(see the answer keys)

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