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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Academic Whispers," who does Morrison say should be asked to speak about racism?
(a) Racists.
(b) Victims of racism.
(c) Historians.
(d) Writers.

2. In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison recounts being asked how to teach one of her books when what was true?
(a) When parents oppose the reading of her book.
(b) When there were no CliffsNotes.
(c) When students struggle to understand her language.
(d) When the teacher is white.

3. In "Goodbye to All That," Morrison uses examples of literary partings between Black and white women to demonstrate what?
(a) Not much progress has been made in literary depictions of race relations.
(b) White writers are not able to convincingly portray Black women.
(c) Over time, the Black women in these pairings are portrayed as more fully realized human beings.
(d) Male writers consistently miss what is most important in relationships between women.

4. What is the purpose of the Edvard Munch quote in "Memory, Creation, and Fiction"?
(a) It supports the counterclaim that history is more reliable than memory.
(b) It introduces Morrison's central point about how memory is employed in writing fiction.
(c) It reinforces the centrality of the visual arts in Morrison's creative process.
(d) It supports the claim that memory is more reliable than history.

5. In "The Trouble with Paradise," what does Morrison call "a realm that is no realm at all"?
(a) Race.
(b) Gender.
(c) Slavery.
(d) History.

6. In "Faulkner and Women," what effect does Morrison say Faulkner has had on her writing?
(a) She uses symbolism in a similar way.
(b) He provided an example of how to manipulate language.
(c) None.
(d) Faulkner was the inspiration for Song of Solomon.

7. In "The Site of Memory," Morrison proposes to show how memoir is similar to and different from what?
(a) Literary criticism.
(b) History.
(c) Poetry.
(d) Fiction.

8. Why is "panoply" a clever piece of diction as used in "Unspeakable Things Unspoken"?
(a) It is part of the alliteration that creates rhythm in the passage.
(b) It is another pun, echoing the essay's opening.
(c) It has a secondary meaning that has to do with arms and armor.
(d) It has negative connotations that support the irony in the essay's tone.

9. In "Faulkner and Women," what does Morrison call the character of Sula?
(a) An artist.
(b) A conqueror.
(c) A delight.
(d) An adventuress.

10. Morrison began Beloved after seeing what?
(a) The arrest of a Black girl.
(b) An argument between her mother and one of her friends.
(c) Her father in the hospital.
(d) A newspaper clipping.

11. In "The Source of Self-Regard," what does Morrison say is a problem with writing novels that are based in history?
(a) There is not much accurate history available.
(b) The historical research can start to take over the story.
(c) No one analytically questions history.
(d) Readers are alienated by history.

12. What does the title "Academic Whispers" refer to?
(a) Rumors circulating in the Princeton English Department about Morrison's refusal to participate in literary scholarship.
(b) Echoes of past racism in modern literary criticism.
(c) Morrison's belief that there is a quiet conversation taking place about the purpose of African American literature.
(d) The secret agreement to exclude Black professors from tenure at Princeton.

13. In "Memory, Creation, and Fiction," what does Morrison say about basing characters on people she knows well?
(a) She does it often, because real people provide a kind of accuracy that wholly fictional people do not.
(b) She does it often, because for her it is part of assembling the "collage" of memory.
(c) She does not do it, because it is immoral.
(d) She does not do it, because real people do not provide enough room for her imagination.

14. In "Academic Whispers," Morrison says that interview requests used to make her feel like she was being used as what?
(a) "Literary enforcement."
(b) A "humanistic disciple."
(c) "Journalistic glue."
(d) A "specimen."

15. In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison writes about not wanting to turn her readers into voyeurs. In this context, the word "voyeur" should be defined how?
(a) Someone who is more confident in their own knowledge than they should be.
(b) Someone afraid of encountering what is new or different.
(c) Someone whose passion outweighs their judgment.
(d) Someone who gets pleasure from watching something that is private or painful for others.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Goodbye to All That," to what other group's struggle does Morrison compare the struggle of Black writers to claim territory that is both identity-specific and identity-neutral?

2. Who is Hannah Peace?

3. In "Introduction to Peter Sellars," Morrison praises his work for being what?

4. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison says that arguments against the inclusion of African American writings in the canon follow a sequence that ends with what belief?

5. In "Faulkner and Women," What reasons does Morrison give for not being able to speak to the conference about Faulkner?

(see the answer keys)

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