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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 country does Nettie travel to with the hopes of appealing to the government?

2. What is the giveaway on the envelopes that they have come from Nettie, not anyone else?

3. What does Mr. compare Celie to when she returns home from Memphis?

4. How did Shug and Grady meet?

5. How does Millie feel about having Sofia in her house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Tashi’s parents feel about her befriending Olivia?

2. What is Nettie’s first impression of the Senegalese people she meets during her travels?

3. Why does Millie think Sofia is ungrateful?

4. Why was Shug so mean to Celie when she first moved in?

5. How does Shug identify Nettie’s hidden letters?

6. What is rootleaf and why is it important to the Olinkans?

7. Who is Mary Agnes?

8. Why is Sofia’s mother’s funeral unusual?

9. What coming-of-age ritual does Tashi partake in, and what is the reaction to her participation?

10. Why is Olivia the only girl at the Olinka School?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Squeak’s character growth. How is her character described when she is first introduced to the reader? What major event changes the way she views herself, and how does this affect her choices later in life? Why does Squeak revert back to her birth name, Mary Agnes? In what ways is Mary Agnes (Squeak) still a victim at the end of the novel, even though she has taken back her independence? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

What is sewing a symbol for in the novel? Why is it significant that Celie and Sofia sew a quilt together after Shug moves in? What does the diversity of a patchwork quilt suggest about the relationships in the novel, particularly the female relationships? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

What is the main difference between life in Olinka and life in America? How do the Olinka people react to the new missionaries when they arrive? How does this dynamic inform the race relations of America, where Shug and Celie are living? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 910 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample