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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 "Race Matters," Morrison says that when she was younger she found something in writing that she could not find in life itself--what was it?

2. According to Morrison's "Black Matter(s)," the slave population became the focus of what fundamental feeling of the colonists?

3. The art show Morrison discusses in "Harlem on My Mind" had a catalog with a forward written by whom?

4. In "The Price of Wealth, the Cost of Care," Morrison compares money to what?

5. In "Black Matter(s)," Morrison says that a key "absence" in writing about racism is the omission of its impact on whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Racism and Fascism,” what does Morrison say are the characteristics of fascism?

2. In “War Against Error," what does Morrison propose as a new "curriculum," and what does she hope it will accomplish?

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

5. In “The Nobel Lecture in Literature," what is the story that Morrison uses to frame her speech?

6. In “Black Matter(s)," what main points does Morrison make about the alleged race-neutrality of American history?

7. In “Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.," what does Morrison say that she wonders about MLK, and why?

8. In “Black Matter(s)," what does Morrison mean by the term "Africanism"?

9. What current problems with arts funding does Morrison identify in “Arts Advocacy”?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In “Gertrude Stein and the Difference She Makes,” Morrison offers a critique of the relationship of Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe to the natural world. Explain the basis of her critique and evaluate the strength of the evidence she offers in her discussion of each author.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

In “The Nobel Lecture in Literature,” Morrison uses a folktale to structure her lecture. Explain how she interprets and then reinterprets this folktale.

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