View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Irene feel it unsafe for Clare to come back?

2. Brian's comments about sex being a joke indicate that

3. Irene has a bad moment during the social event wherein she

4. The time spent without Clare in the picture

5. Irene Redfield does not

Short Essay Questions

1. Is there anything we can deduce about Irene's response to Clare's letter without knowing the whole story? If so, what are they?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. How did her religion help Helga through difficult times?

5. What is the burden that these characters carry with them throughout the story?

6. 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?

7. After two years pass, Clare again wants to become involved in Irene's life. Is Irene's reaction negative or positive? Explain her reaction.

8. What do we know about Clare Kendry from her letter to Irene? What do we know about her from this chapter?

9. What is it that has kept Clare from leaving her husband and living permanently in Harlem?

10. What is odd about the initial meeting among Irene, Gertrude and Clare? Are these conversations typical among women friends? What, if anything, makes the visit among the three women unusual?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Why did Helga Crane not fit into the culture of Naxos? Larsen suggests several reasons, but one stands out above the rest. Helga is a complex character, but has some basic flaws that hinder her development. What were they, and how did they hurt her?

Essay Topic 3

What are the most outstanding differences in Helga Crane's presentation of herself in Denmark and in New York? Write about her transition from one facade to the other, and what she brought from one culture to the other. Did she blend in within any of the societal structures in which she chose to live? Why, or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,527 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample