A STEP BEYOND

TESTS AND ANSWERS

TEST

_____ 1. The reporters ask Bigger

I. if he likes eating with white people
II. what he thinks of private property
III. whether he has seen any suspicious people around

A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. I, II, and III

_____ 2. Bigger throws away his cross when he

A. sees an emblem of the Ku Klux Klan
B. becomes a Muslim
C. is told to by the Communists

_____ 3. In Bigger's first meeting with Mr. Dalton, Dalton asks him

A. how many jobs he has held
B. whether he will steal if hired
C. what his politics are

_____ 4. Bigger fails to clean the ashes from the furnace because he is

A. forgetful
B. protesting menial work
C. afraid of seeing Mary's remains

_____ 5. Max questions Mr. Dalton about his company's policy of

I. charging blacks higher rents than whites
II. refusing to rent apartments to blacks outside the South Side ghetto
III. refusing to hire blacks for management positions

A. II and III only
B. I and II only
C. I, II, and III

_____ 6. Jan and Mary ask Bigger to take them to

A. a black night club
B. his home
C. a restaurant in his part of town

_____ 7. Bigger kills Bessie because he

A. is jealous
B. is afraid that she will turn him in
C. has developed a taste for killing

_____ 8. In Bigger's final conversation with Max, he says

I. "But what I killed for, I am!"
II. "Tell Jan hello."
III. "I want to live."

A. I and III only
B. I and II only
C. I, II, and III

_____ 9. Bigger's mother is

A. religious
B. politically active
C. frequently drunk

_____ 10. Bigger's sister doesn't like Bigger's

A. taking a job outside the home
B. looking at her
C. killing rats

11. What is Native Son's attitude toward religion?

12. Does Native Son endorse violence? Explain.

13. Is Native Son a novel of social realism, or is it a dreamlike, symbolic tale? Back up your answer with evidence from the novel.

14. How convincing are the characters of Jan and Max?

15. What social institutions does Richard Wright criticize in Native Son?

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