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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What simile does Hurston use to characterize Delia's throwing off of her most habitual character trait?
(a) Like an old snakeskin.
(b) Like a lace collar.
(c) Like a swatch of chiffon.
(d) Like a blown scarf.

2. When Sykes calls Delia a hypocrite, what sin does he accuse her of committing to warrant this label?
(a) Stealing.
(b) Lying.
(c) Working on the Sabbath.
(d) Being proud.

3. What gesture does Delia make toward the men on Joe's porch as she passes by?
(a) She waves.
(b) She nods.
(c) She turns away.
(d) She makes the sign of the evil eye.

4. On the afternoon when Sykes and Bertha come to the store, what does the narrator say had even "collapsed under the heat"? (3)
(a) Good will.
(b) Friendships.
(c) Common sense.
(d) Conversation.

5. What kind of nuts had Sykes brought as a present to help him woo one of the men's wives?
(a) Cashews.
(b) Brazil nuts.
(c) Pecans.
(d) Peanuts.

6. Where does Delia say Sykes would disappear to with all of his wages during the first year of their marriage?
(a) Sarasota.
(b) Myrtle Beach.
(c) Orlando.
(d) Tampa.

7. What kind of indifference does the narrator say Delia comes to feel about everything Sykes says or does after she realizes that his evil deeds will revisit him in the end?
(a) Tremendous.
(b) Bored.
(c) Triumphant.
(d) Uneasy.

8. The narrator describes Delia as giving "a little scream of" (2) what when Sykes steps upon her laundry?
(a) Rage.
(b) Surprise.
(c) Outrage.
(d) Dismay.

9. What does the narrator say that the men on Joe's porch do with the cane-knots on the day Sykes and Bertha come to the store, due to the extreme heat?
(a) They kick them out of the way.
(b) They pile them in their laps.
(c) They let them dribble over the edge of the porch.
(d) They let them be eaten by the dogs.

10. What adjective does Sykes use to describe Delia just before he steps into the room where she is sorting laundry?
(a) Dissembling.
(b) Solicitous.
(c) Annoying.
(d) Aggravating.

11. When one of the men's wives had repelled Sykes's advances, she had told him that Delia worked so hard that she bet everything in the house tasted like sweat and what?
(a) Mud.
(b) Soapsuds.
(c) Grime.
(d) Lye.

12. For what purpose does the narrator say Delia had built and improved upon her little home?
(a) For her children.
(b) For her security.
(c) For her husband's happiness.
(d) For her old age.

13. When Joe Lindsay says that there ought to be a law about Sykes's behavior, he says that Sykes "ain't fit tuh carry guts to a" (3) what?
(a) A vulture.
(b) A seagull.
(c) A hyena.
(d) A bear.

14. Elijah says that Sykes has beaten Delia enough to kill how many women?
(a) 3.
(b) 20.
(c) 5.
(d) 10.

15. What does Delia do with the clothes after Sykes steps on them?
(a) She throws them at him.
(b) She stands between him and the clothes to protect them.
(c) She gathers them together again.
(d) She takes them outside.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word does the narrator use to describe Delia's thoughts about her garden?

2. When Sykes laughs at Delia for being scared of the bullwhip, what physical movement does he make?

3. When Joe Clarke says that there is no law in the world that will make a man act a certain way, what is that certain way he mentions?

4. Who says that Sykes had once come to his house when he was not home in order to try to seduce his wife?

5. What does the narrator say that the men on Joe's porch usually would do with the cane-knots if it were not so stiflingly hot outside?

(see the answer keys)

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