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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. In "The Future of Time," Morrison worries that we increasingly turn to the past for what?

2. In "Moral Inhabitants," what is the list of American leaders meant to demonstrate?

3. What question does Morrison say is at the center of of government?

4. In the story that opens "The Nobel Lecture in Literature," what do the children ask the old woman about?

5. Based on your reading of "Arts Advocacy," which statement would Morrison agree with?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Black Matter(s)," what point is Morrison illustrating with the excerpt she includes from Bailyn's Voyagers of the West?

2. In “The Future of Time: Literature and Diminished Expectations," why does Morrison say it is important for us to turn our attention to the future?

3. In “Women, Race, and Memory” how does Morrison describe the way "non-aligned" women are viewed by feminists and anti-feminists, and how do non-aligned women view them?

4. In “The Foreigner’s Home,” what point is Morrison making with her discussion of The Radiance of the King?

5. In “The Individual Artist," what is the paradox that Morrison says artists face?

6. In “Black Matter(s)," in what ways does Morrison say Africanism has become a "disabling virus"?

7. In “The Nobel Lecture in Literature," Morrison explains why oppressive language is a problem: what effects does she claim it has?

8. In “The Habit of Art," why does Morrison allude to Antigone?

9. In “Harlem on My Mind," what does Morrison point to as the causes of the failure of the New York Metropolitan Museum's 1968 exhibit on Harlem?

10. In “A Race in Mind: The Press in Deed," how does Morrison connect the idea of "special interests" with the racial identification of subjects in news stories?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "God's Language," Morrison suggests that religious ideas, and the idea of paradise particularly, are difficult to convey in a modern context. Why does she believe this and what is her proposed solution?

Essay Topic 2

In “Black Matter(s),” Morrison argues that American literature and “Americanness” have been shaped by the slave trade and by racism against Black Americans. Explain how she supports this claim and then evaluate the strength or weakness of her argument.

Essay Topic 3

In “Women, Race, and Memory,” Morrison evokes the figure of Harriet Tubman. Who is Harriet Tubman, and what associations does Morrison hope to create by telling an anecdote about her?

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