1. Why does Nanny arrange for Janie to marry Logan Killicks?
A. She believes Logan will make Janie happy and fulfilled in marriage.B. She wants to protect Janie by securing her to a man with land and financial stability.C. She is angry at Janie and wants to punish her by forcing an unhappy marriage.D. She hopes Logan will teach Janie to become a better farmer and worker.
2. What does Janie experience under the pear tree as a teenager that becomes important to her later?
A. A moment of natural beauty and romantic desire that becomes her internal standard for what love should feel like.B. A traumatic event that makes her afraid of nature and outdoor spaces.C. A conversation with Nanny about the importance of marriage and duty.D. A discovery of her own ability to work hard and support herself financially.
3. How does Joe Starks treat Janie during their marriage?
A. He encourages her to speak freely and participate in town decisions alongside him.B. He treats her as an equal partner and celebrates her independence and opinions.C. He controls her by making her tie up her hair, silencing her in public, and treating her as a symbol of his status.D. He neglects her emotionally but allows her complete freedom to do whatever she wishes.
4. What happens to Janie after Joe Starks dies?
A. She immediately leaves Eatonville and never returns.B. She feels grief but also relief, looks in the mirror, and sees herself again for the first time in years.C. She becomes depressed and loses the ability to run the store or manage her own affairs.D. She remarries quickly to another wealthy man in town to maintain her status.
5. What is different about Janie's relationship with Tea Cake compared to her previous marriages?
A. Tea Cake is wealthier and can provide more financial security than either Logan or Joe.B. Tea Cake treats Janie as an equal, takes genuine interest in her as a person, and includes her in social life rather than controlling or using her.C. Tea Cake is older and more experienced, so he knows better how to manage a household.D. Tea Cake forces Janie to work harder than she ever worked before and demands complete obedience.
6. Why does Janie shoot Tea Cake during the hurricane?
A. She wants to leave him and take his money for herself.B. Tea Cake contracts rabies from a dog bite, loses his mind, pulls a gun on her in a moment of delusion, and she shoots him in self-defense.C. She is angry that he gambled away their savings and wants revenge.D. The townspeople pressure her to do it so they can blame her for his death.
7. How is the novel structured, and what effect does this structure have on the story?
A. The story is told by a narrator who observes Janie from outside, giving an objective view of events.B. Janie tells her entire life story to her best friend Pheoby Watson in a frame narrative, meaning the reader gets Janie's version in her own voice and on her own terms.C. The story jumps back and forth in time without any clear narrative frame, confusing the reader about when events occur.D. Multiple characters take turns narrating different parts of the story, each offering their own perspective on Janie's life.
8. What does the novel suggest about the relationship between safety and selfhood?
A. Safety and selfhood are always compatible, and people can have both at the same time.B. Safety and selfhood are often in conflict; Janie only finds herself when she stops letting others define what a good life should look like.C. Selfhood is less important than safety, and people should always choose security over personal fulfillment.D. The novel does not address this question at all and focuses only on romantic relationships.
9. What role does the community of Eatonville play in the novel?
A. The community is entirely supportive of Janie and celebrates all her choices without question.B. The community serves as both a source of warmth and a source of pressure through gossip and judgment, opening and closing the novel as the porch-sitters speculate about Janie's life.C. The community has no real impact on Janie's decisions or sense of self.D. The community is hostile and violent toward Janie from the moment she arrives.
10. How does Nanny's history as an enslaved woman shape her relationship with Janie?
A. It has no effect on her choices, as she has completely moved past her trauma.B. It shapes her decisions out of fear and love; she passes down the weight of her trauma through the choices she makes for Janie, prioritizing safety over freedom.C. It makes her want Janie to rebel against all authority and reject marriage entirely.D. It causes her to hate all men and teach Janie to distrust them completely.
11. What does Janie tell Pheoby at the end of the novel about how people learn to live?
A. People should always listen to their elders and follow the advice given to them.B. People have to find out about living for themselves; no one can hand that knowledge over to them.C. Living is something that should be avoided because it causes too much pain and loss.D. The best way to live is to stay in one place and never take any risks or try anything new.
