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

2. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison says that what is different about the discussion of including African-American literature in the canon is that unlike earlier arguments over expanding the canon, this one does what?
(a) Calls into question the authenticity of American literature as a category within the canon.
(b) Undermines the existence of the canon itself.
(c) Responds to shifting tastes in the reading public.
(d) Arouses much more violent passions in the defenders of the status quo.

3. "The Trouble with Paradise" is mostly about what?
(a) The difference between older and more modern ideas of paradise.
(b) The language needed to describe paradise.
(c) The plot of Morrison's novel Paradise.
(d) Characterization difficulties Morrison had while writing Paradise.

4. In "God's Language," what does Morrison say gets more attention than paradise?
(a) Race.
(b) Hell.
(c) Money.
(d) Power.

5. In "Unspeakable Things Unspoken," Morrison comments that race was once used to exclude Blacks, but now that they want their race represented, they are told it does not exist. What function does this detail perform?
(a) It ironically illustrates the constantly shifting rationale for exclusion.
(b) It is a straw-man version of the counterclaims Morrison is trying to undermine.
(c) It adds a comic note that breaks the tension of a series of upsetting images.
(d) It introduces a nostalgic tone that supports Morrison's argument with an element of pathos.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Hard, True, and Lasting," Morrison says that what feeling is the first one writers feel when they begin to write?

2. In "Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes," Morrison posits that the "Lone" Ranger is "lone" because of what?

3. In "Grendel and His Mother," Morrison notes that Beowulf is a part of Western literature's characterization of evil as what?

4. In "The Writer Before the Page," what does Morrison say she avoids in her writing?

5. In "The Source of Self-Regard," Morrison suggests that one reason that her work is widely taught is that it is what?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “James Baldwin Eulogy,” Morrison explains that Baldwin brought "three gifts." What is this an allusion to, and how does it function in this piece?

2. In “The Site of Memory," what reasons does Morrison give for finding her inclusion in an anthology about memoir to be both strange and appropriate?

3. In “Memory, Creation, and Fiction," what Black cultural aesthetic expectations does Morrison discuss as important in her work, and why is it important to her to use them?

4. According to “The Writer Before the Page," why does Morrison use allusions to folktales in her writing?

5. In “The Site of Memory," what does Morrison say about how image and memory interacted for her in relation to her father's death and Song of Solomon?

6. What point is Morrison trying to illustrate when she brings up the origins of Ancient Greece in “Unspeakable Things Unspoken"?

7. In “Academic Whispers," what does Morrison say used to annoy her about being asked to speak about racism?

8. In “Invisible Ink," what does Morrison say bothers her about the association of the word "pleasure" with reading?

9. In “James Baldwin Eulogy,” what does Morrison describe as Baldwin's contribution to language?

10. What point is Morrison trying to illustrate when she brings up Moby Dick in “Unspeakable Things Unspoken"?

(see the answer keys)

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