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

2. What is the real purpose of the Reverend's speech?

3. What does the narrator lack in Chapter 12?

4. The image of the slave owners bidding for a naked girl is

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator notice while waiting for his appointment with the trustees?

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

3. Describe Dr. Bledsoe.

4. What surprises the narrator upon his arrival in Harlem?

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

6. Why do the people at the Men's House treat him with hostility?

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

8. Who are the sleeping ones?

9. What favor does the young Mr. Emerson do for the narrator?

10. What does the narrator expect from his visit with Mr. Bates?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the symbolism of the following items: the figurine bank, the dark glasses, the briefcase, the dancing dolls, the piece of chain.

Essay Topic 2

Several times the narrator recalls his grandfather's dying words. Discuss the situations in which the narrator recalls his grandfather, showing how he reacts to those memories upon different occasions.

Essay Topic 3

On several different occasions, the narrator speaks directly to the reader, ending in his epilogue with "perhaps I speak for you...." Who do you think Ellison imagined as his most likely audience? If the various groups of people in the book could be allegorical representations of cultural groups--i.e. college administrators, blue collar employers, political party leaders, low income minority groups, etc.--what message would they perceive in the novel? Choose two or three different groups and tell how the story might speak to each of them.

(see the answer keys)

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