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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. At all costs, Irene does not want to
2. What animal image comes to Irene's mind when considering Clare?
3. How does Irene conclude that Brian and Clare are having an affair?
4. Whrn speaking with Hugh Wentworth at the dance, Irene
5. What is the trait of Clare's that gossipers have mentioned to Irene?
Short Essay Questions
1. What is the author's intention when she puts the two women together in the hotel restaurant scene? What conclusions can we draw from Irene's memory of that day?
2. Hugh Wentworth, the white author, comes back into the story during the afternoon tea scene. What is Wentworth's role? Is he a true friend to Irene? To Clare?
3. Things have taken a turn for the worse at the Redfields'. What are the clues that the story is inching toward a conclusion as it pertains to the Redfields and Clare Kendry? What conclusions can we draw about this section of the story?
4. What is it that has kept Clare from leaving her husband and living permanently in Harlem?
5. Why do you suppose Clare is pushing herself so rigorously to get involved in Irene's life? Why has she not chosen, for instance, Gertrude, to reacquaint her with the black culture? What is the particular attraction to Irene?
6. Discuss how giving birth to her fourth child seems to be Helga's breaking point. Why does this happen? What does the death of her infant symbolize?
7. During a period while Clare is gone, is there peace in the Redfield home? Why, or why not?
8. After two years pass, Clare again wants to become involved in Irene's life. Is Irene's reaction negative or positive? Explain her reaction.
9. What is the burden that these characters carry with them throughout the story?
10. What role, if any, does Clare's husband play in the story so far? Is he a comforting presence? Why, or why not? Is he a likable character?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
In the 1920s, being of mixed race was not easy, as exemplified by these stories. How have things changed in America in this regard, or have they? Is there more freedom now for mixed marriages and bi-racial children? Why, or why not? What are some of the hardships faced by bi-racial couples and children?
Essay Topic 2
Is there really such a place as Naxos? If not, trace the history of the first schools in the south that were strictly designed for African American students. Were they designed to uplift the black race, or to teach assimilation?Were they comparable to Naxos in terms of their goals and objectives? If so, in what ways?
Essay Topic 3
Research and write about Harlem in the 1920s. What made Harlem the haven it became for African Americans? What kinds of people lived there? What was the basic economic structure at that time? Did people generally live in Harlem and work outside, or vice versa? Was black Harlem closed to white folks?
This section contains 1,612 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |
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