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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. Why does Joe begin tracking Dorcas down with a gun?

2. Why does True Belle send Violet to Palestine?

3. How does Rose Dear eventually die?

4. What does Dorcas put on Joe's hands?

5. Why doesn't a fire truck intervene during the house fire in Dorcas's home?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter One, how does the narrator describe Violet Trace?

2. Describe the first time Joe officially meets Dorcas.

3. What is the significance of Dorcas's clothespin dolls in Chapter Three?

4. How does the narrator describe the way Joe and Violet meet in Chapter Four?

5. Describe Violet's "crazy episodes" as they are presented in Chapter One.

6. Why do Joe and Violet fall into such deep debt in Chapter Five?

7. Describe the series of thoughts in Joe's mind the night he shoots Dorcas in Chapter Five.

8. In what ways does Alice try to protect Dorcas?

9. Briefly describe the nature of Joe and Dorcas's relationship as described in Chapter Two.

10. Describe Joe's recollection of the train ride to Maryland in Chapter Two.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Violet decide she never wants to have children? What impact does this have on her marriage? How does her desire to have children change throughout the book and why?

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Joe and Violet move from the country to the city? What reasons does Joe give for the move? Do you think these reasons are accurate? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

How is racism explored and conveyed in Morrison's work? Why do you think Morrison writes about it in this way?

(see the answer keys)

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