View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What day does Sykes say he has almost forgotten it is when he is about to leave the store with Bertha?
(a) Sunday.
(b) Friday.
(c) Monday.
(d) Saturday.

2. What type of rattlesnake does Sykes say the snake is?
(a) Canebreak.
(b) Mojave.
(c) Timber.
(d) Diamondback.

3. When Delia says that Sykes can lie with Bertha as much as he wants, what condition does she put on her assent?
(a) That Sykes get rid of the snake.
(b) That Sykes leave her house.
(c) That Sykes fix the barn roof.
(d) That Bertha stay away from her house.

4. Who drives past the store just when Sykes is ordering food for Bertha at the store?
(a) Elijah's wife.
(b) Sykes's former mistress.
(c) Joe Clarke's daughter.
(d) Delia.

5. What causes the snake to come alive and start to rattle incessantly?
(a) It rains.
(b) It finishes digesting its food.
(c) The weather gets warmer.
(d) Sykes feeds it a mouse.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Delia is described as trying to avoid meeting places in town, what does the narrator say she is trying to accomplish?

2. What adjective does Old Man Anderson use when he says that Sykes has gotten too something to live?

3. What do the men immediately do when Sykes and Bertha arrive at the store when they are about to cut into the watermelon?

4. The narrator says that each time Delia attempts what type of friendliness toward Sykes, her efforts come to naught?

5. What does Delia nearly do as a result of being pushed by Sykes when he is blocking the kitchen doorway?

Short Essay Questions

1. What arguments do the men present when they are trying to get Joe Clarke to bring out a watermelon for them to share?

2. What is Hurston's purpose for alluding to Gethsemane and the rocks of Calvary during the period of conflict with Sykes?

3. What is the significance of the snake baring its "scimitar" (6)-like fangs at Delia?

4. How does Delia try "to be blind and deaf" (5) to Sykes's gallivanting around town with Bertha?

5. How are Delia's efforts to remain "blind and deaf" (5) to Sykes's adulterous actions thwarted?

6. Which elements of Bertha's character are disparaged by the group of men at Joe Clarke's store once she leaves with Sykes?

7. What plans does Sykes make with Bertha and what is the significance of these plans?

8. How does Sykes use the occasion of bringing home the rattlesnake in order to once again attack Delia's physical appearance?

9. For how long has Bertha been in Eatonville and how does she support herself?

10. How does Delia react once Sykes both refuses to remove the rattlesnake and threatens to beat her?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,172 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample