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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Ellison choose to analyze William Falkner?
(a) Falkner is very critical of Ellison's novel.
(b) Falkner is a close personal friend of Ellison.
(c) Falkner is a great artist and could not be left out of the discussion.
(d) Falkner writes about Negro life with mixed motives but also with great success.

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

3. Who is Stanley Hyman's favorite archetypal figure?
(a) Orphaned prince.
(b) Messiah.
(c) Trickster.
(d) King.

4. Why does Ellison chose not to emphasize the details of racial hardship in his life?
(a) It is a Negro audience and they already know his story.
(b) It is a white audience and he fears they will be uncomfortable.
(c) Too painful for him to speak about.
(d) To avoid boring the audience.

5. What is the "Hidden Name" referred to in the title of Ellison's speech?
(a) Ellison's middle name, Waldo.
(b) Ernest Hemingway.
(c) The names given to Negro people by their slave owners.
(d) Ellison's father's name, George Washington Ellison.

6. Where and when is the essay "Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke" published?
(a) Yale Literary Review, Winter, 1960.
(b) New Yorker Magazine, Summer, 1959.
(c) Life Magazine, Summer, 1958.
(d) Partisan Review, Spring 1958.

7. What is the occasion of Ellison's speech "Brave Words on a Startling Occasion?"
(a) Induction into the American Negro Writer's Hall of Fame.
(b) Acceptance of the American National Book Award in 1953.
(c) Address to the Harvard University graduating class of 1950.
(d) Eldest son's wedding.

8. What does Ellison believe is the true "Negro experience?"
(a) The opposite of the "white experience."
(b) There isn't one. Negro persons live diverse and varied lives.
(c) A codified, suffocating existence which cannot be understood by others.
(d) A life of unremitting suffering and pain.

9. What does Ellison praise about "Primer for White Folks?"
(a) The search for images of black and white fraternity.
(b) Realistic and therefore does not contain much hope.
(c) Short and to the point.
(d) Easy to read and young children will like it.

10. How does Ellison describe his boyhood experience in Oklahoma?
(a) Series of mind numbing and violent episodes.
(b) Poverty stricken existence with little enjoyment.
(c) Very controlled and regimented experience.
(d) Romantic aspirations in the spirit of frontier adventurousness.

11. Where might Crane have gotten information about the Civil War?
(a) Intensive scholarly research.
(b) Manuscripts and letters.
(c) His own experience.
(d) His brother.

12. Where does Ellison grow up?
(a) New Orleans.
(b) New York City.
(c) Oklahoma City.
(d) Dallas.

13. How does Ellison describe his relationship with Howe?
(a) Comrades in arms.
(b) Antagonistic cooperation.
(c) Bitterly opposed enemies.
(d) Alienation and scorn.

14. What writers does Ellison wish had been included in the "Primer for White Folks"?
(a) Young unknown writers.
(b) Major, widely-read American authors.
(c) More Negro writers.
(d) Hispanic authors.

15. How many children are in Stephen Crane's birth family?
(a) 1.
(b) 14.
(c) 2.
(d) 20.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of literature does Ellison believe Wright's novel "Black Boy" is?

2. What is Ellison's original career direction?

3. Hemingway carries on Twain's technical discoveries in writing but loses what?

4. As a child what is Wright unable to distinguish between?

5. What are the three themes of "Shadow and Act" according to the Introduction?

(see the answer keys)

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