A STEP BEYOND

TESTS AND ANSWERS

TEST 2

_____ 1. The narrator is expelled from the college because he

A. behaved improperly with a white man
B. exposed aspects of black life Dr. Bledsoe wanted to keep hidden
C. was guilty of insubordination with Dr. Bledsoe

_____ 2. Young Mr. Emerson reveals the contents of the letter to the narrator

A. because he feels guilty about what the white world is doing to blacks
B. because he personally despised Bledsoe
C. in order to get revenge on his father, whom he resents

_____ 3. The narrator's encounters on the street with Peter Wheatstraw and later the yam seller

A. suggest the importance of forgetting the past
B. remind him that his southern folk heritage is part of his identity
C. reinforce the hopelessness of the black situation in New York

_____ 4. Ellison's style in the novel

A. moves from realism to expressionism to surrealism
B. moves from surrealism to realism
C. is predominantly realistic throughout the novel

_____ 5. The character of the protagonist is such that he might be described as a

A. reliable narrator
B. naive narrator
C. prejudiced narrator

_____ 6. The member of the Brotherhood most faithful to the narrator and his work in Harlem is

A. Brother Wrestrum
B. Brother Tarp
C. Brother Tobitt

_____ 7. The Brotherhood is opposed to the narrator's emotional and personal style of speaking because

A. they are afraid the crowds will get out of control
B. it does not reflect their scientific, rational philosophy
C. it makes the other speakers look bad

_____ 8. The dancing Sambo dolls being sold by Tod Clifton

A. are symbols of American commercialism
B. suggest the way many blacks have behaved for whites in America
C. suggest the good humor and comic nature of American blacks

_____ 9. The identity of Rinehart

A. gives the narrator the opportunity to make major reforms
B. allows the narrator to undermine Ras the Exhorter
C. allows the narrator to survive in a world of chaos and confusion

_____ 10. The decision of the narrator to leave his cave at the end of the novel symbolizes

A. his failure to learn anything from his experiences
B. the end of contemplation and the beginning of action
C. his compromises in order to survive in life

11. Explore the symbolic use of the colors "black" and "white" in the novel.

12. What view of American blacks emerges from the reading of Invisible Man?

13. Would you view Invisible Man as an optimistic or pessimistic statement about the human situation? Why?

14. Analyze the development of the narrator as a character. How does he change during the course of the novel?

15. Discuss the imagery of sight and blindness in Invisible Man.

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