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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The narrator describes Delia's shoulders as thin and what?
(a) Sloped.
(b) Bent.
(c) Stooped.
(d) Strong.

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

3. When Sykes leaves and Delia feels certain that he will not be home until a certain time, when is that time?
(a) The following night.
(b) After dawn.
(c) The following week.
(d) Nearly daybreak.

4. When Sykes declares how tired he is of Delia and leaves the house, what does he do on his way out?
(a) Slams the front door.
(b) Bangs on the mailbox.
(c) Slams the back gate.
(d) Kicks the fence.

5. When Delia lies in bed mourning her lost love and friendship with her husband, she says it "is too late for everything" (2) except what?
(a) Her self-respect.
(b) A change of scenery.
(c) Her children.
(d) Her little home.

6. Against what object does Sykes strike his match?
(a) The matchbox.
(b) His corduroy breeches.
(c) The sole of his boot.
(d) The fireplace mantel.

7. What verb does the narrator use to describe what Delia's pose in the kitchen does to Sykes?
(a) It angers him.
(b) It cows him.
(c) It emasculates him.
(d) It scares him.

8. In addition to the adjective black, what other adjective does Delia use to describe Bertha the first time she brings her up to Sykes?
(a) Scandalous.
(b) Ugly.
(c) Sinful.
(d) Snaggle-toothed.

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

10. 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) Triumphant.
(b) Uneasy.
(c) Bored.
(d) Tremendous.

11. 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.

12. When Delia tells Sykes that she has been taking in laundry the whole time they have been married, what question does he immediately ask her?
(a) Where his share of the profits have gone.
(b) How the subject involves him.
(c) Whether dinner is ready.
(d) If she has salted the stew.

13. About what task does Sykes state his lack of care about whether Delia ever gets the task done or not?
(a) Whitewashing the house.
(b) Laundry.
(c) Cooking dinner.
(d) Sweeping.

14. Jim says that Sykes has always been crazy about what kind of women?
(a) Light.
(b) Fat.
(c) Dark.
(d) Beautiful.

15. 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 let them dribble over the edge of the porch.
(b) They kick them out of the way.
(c) They pile them in their laps.
(d) They let them be eaten by the dogs.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. What "habitual" character trait of Delia's seems "to slip from her shoulders" (1) after Sykes threatens her with physical violence?

3. What simile does Hurston use to characterize Delia's throwing off of her most habitual character trait?

4. What substance does Delia demand that Sykes stop grinding into the clothes?

5. On the afternoon when Sykes and Bertha come to the store, what does the narrator say had even "collapsed under the heat"? (3)

(see the answer keys)

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