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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 is the senator so cold, initially, to Reverend Hickman in the hospital?

2. How many people did Senator Sunraider sometimes preach to in his childhood?

3. Whose idea is it to have the young senator pop out of a coffin during services?

4. The religious revivals of this time period served as what kinds of events?

5. With what term is Bowlegs unfamiliar?

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes Bliss so upset about the clown act at the circus?

2. What makes Hickman realize he will have a life of bachelorhood?

3. As he struggles to stay awake while sitting at the senator's bedside, what does the reverend wonder?

4. When remembering his trip with the crazed woman to the jailhouse, who does Reverend Hickman confess he should have been praying for instead?

5. Why does Bliss get to cut open the watermelon he and Sister Georgia share?

6. How does Reverend Hickman feel about the Juneteenth holiday?

7. What does Reverend Hickman tell Bliss the film world is a shadow of?

8. Where does the term "Juneteenth" come from?

9. How does Hickman encourage Senator Sunraider to come to peace with the fact that he was preaching at such a young age?

10. What does Senator Sunraider see after he has been shot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose at least 3 female characters from Juneteenth and discuss how each one contributes to the larger role that Ellison gives to women in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss race and at least 3 specific ways in which race comes up in the novel. How does Ellison use race to tie into the novel's larger themes and message?

Essay Topic 3

Is Reverend Hickman a "good" character or a "bad" character? Provide at least 3 examples from the novel to support your position.

(see the answer keys)

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