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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what room does Delia sort the clothes she will launder?
(a) Kitchen.
(b) Bedroom.
(c) Study.
(d) Dining room.

2. What gesture does Delia make toward the men on Joe's porch as she passes by?
(a) She nods.
(b) She turns away.
(c) She waves.
(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) After dawn.
(b) The following week.
(c) Nearly daybreak.
(d) The following night.

4. The narrator describes Sykes's choice of the laundry pile on which to step using which adjective?
(a) The tidiest.
(b) The biggest.
(c) The whitest.
(d) The cleanest.

5. What does the narrator say that Delia is able to "build...against her husband" (3) after she decides that he will reap what he sows?
(a) A code of silence.
(b) A wall of hatred.
(c) A spiritual earthworks.
(d) A decadent shroud.

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator describes Delia as giving "a little scream of" (2) what when Sykes steps upon her laundry?

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

3. What verb does the narrator use to describe what Delia's pose in the kitchen does to Sykes?

4. 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?

5. What kind of women does Sykes declare to Delia that he hates?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is shown about Delia's character traits in the very first paragraph of the story?

2. In what season does the story begin its narrative and what does this choice by the author symbolize?

3. Why does Delia's knowledge that Sykes is out with her pony and carriage worry her?

4. What is meant by the piece of narration that states, "It was plain that the breaches must remain agape" (6)?

5. In what ways do the men on Joe Clarke's porch express admiration of Delia?

6. What does Sykes's bullwhip symbolize within the story?

7. At what point does the author show the first change in Delia's character and how does she portray this change?

8. What is the reason for the listlessness of the men who gather on Joe Clarke's porch?

9. What is demonstrated about Sykes's character when the narrator states, "It pleased him for Delia to see" (3) him ordering for Bertha at the store?

10. Before Delia's decision to stand up to Sykes by raising the iron skillet in a defensive pose, how does she react to his verbal abuse?

(see the answer keys)

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