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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. What establishment is to the right of Ellison?

2. Who is the author of the novel "Intruder in the Dust?"

3. In "The Art of Fiction: An Interview" what does Ellison say at the very beginning?

4. In "Blues People" how are the blues categorized?

5. What is Jimmy Rushing's instrument?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the mural above the bandstand at Minton's depict?

2. When asked when he began "Invisible Man" what does Ellison answer?

3. Who does the song "They picked poor robin clean" remind Ellison of?

4. What captures the attention of many critics about "Blues People."

5. What does Ellison say is the invisible man's discovery?

6. Who is Teddy Hill?

7. What does Ellison believe is the primary American theme in both life and literature?

8. Why does Ellison disagree with Jones when he says "A slave cannot be a man"?

9. What type of food is served at Minton's?

10. Who is Mahalia Jackson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Richard Wright's Blues" explores the history of southern Negro culture. What was the atmosphere Wright grew up in? What would he have been afraid of? Where did the violence, especially the beating and punishment from Negro parents upon their children, come from? How did this environment affect the young Wright? If he had stayed in the south would he have bloomed into the writer and thinker that he did? What did Ellison think about the chances of that happening?

Essay Topic 2

In "Some Questions and Some Answers" Ellison makes the provocative statement that there is no Negro culture. What does he mean by this? How does he support his argument? What history does he draw upon to reveal his thinking on this matter?

Essay Topic 3

In the four articles on musicians written for the Saturday Review, Ellison explores the development of each individual artist. What do Mahalia Jackson, Charlie Parker, Charlie Christian and Jimmy Rushing have in common? Why does Ellison choose both nationally famous and locally famous musicians to write about? How are the careers and styles of the four musicians different?

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