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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 season is it when Celie sees Pa for the last time?

2. What is the name of the ship Nettie sails to Olinla?

3. Where did Mr. hide Nettie’s letters?

4. Who does Nettie marry?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the most eye-opening experience for Nettie when she is in New York?

2. Why does Millie think Sofia is ungrateful?

3. How does Pa react when Celie tells him that she knows the truth about her birth parents?

4. Who did Pa marry after Celie and Nettie moved out, and what does this suggest about his personality?

5. Who is Germaine, and how does Celie feel about him?

6. Who are Nettie and Celie’s birth parents?

7. How does Shug convince Celie not to kill Mr.?

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

9. How does Billy get hurt on the day that Celie visits Sofia at the mayor’s house?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

What is significant about the day that Celie and Nettie are reunited? What major obstacles did they overcome to be together again in America? How does Celie feel at the end of the novel, and what message does this send to the reader about the value of family? Be sure to include examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 909 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample