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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Part 3, The Shadow and the Act, Section 4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is Charlie Christian?
(a) Haunting blues trumpeter.
(b) Highest paid night club singer.
(c) Greatest jazz guitarist.
(d) Innovative drummer.

2. What musician does Ellison see as the true "trickster" archetype?
(a) Mahalia Jackson.
(b) Louis Armstrong.
(c) Jack Benny.
(d) Charlie Parker.

3. What Bible myth is referred to in "The World and the Jug?"
(a) Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
(b) Noah, Ham, Shem and Japheth.
(c) Baby Moses and the Pharaoh's daughter.
(d) Garden of Eden.

4. Who lives on the left of Ellison?
(a) Large family with several sets of infant twins.
(b) Husband and wife who constantly bicker.
(c) Night shift worker who likes Count Bassie.
(d) Jazz drummer and trumpet player.

5. What does the phrase "to finger its jagged grain and to transcend it" refer to?
(a) The power of the blues.
(b) To climb great mountains.
(c) To walk the razor's edge of reason.
(d) The complexity of writing fiction.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Mrs. Lydia Maria Child?

2. What two types of music is Ellison torn between as a child?

3. Why do Crane and his wife move to England?

4. Who is Stanley Edgar Hyman?

5. Where is the essay "Stephen Crane and the Mainstream of American Fiction" published?

(see the answer key)

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