Go Tell It on the Mountain

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following words best describes how John felt after he saw the “lust” between a man and a woman in the basement?

A) Curiosity

B) Desire

C) Fear

D) Safety

2. Which word best describes Elisha’s movements during the Sunday church services?

A) Animalistic

B) Godlike

C) Timid

D) Graceful

3. How does John feel about his relationship with God in Part 1?

A) Awestruck since he is a devout believer

B) Apathetic since he no longer attends services

C) Ardent since he will become a pastor in the future

D) Averse since he despises his father

4. In Part 1, John laments the difficulty of cleaning his family’s rug. Which of the following phrases most likely reflects the meaning of this passage?

A) A commentary on the inability to remove one’s sins

B) A reflection on the poverty in communities of people of color

C) A criticism of the low wages that church deacons receive

D) A response to the ability to successfully convert one’s inner demons to socially acceptable thought processes

5. Which of the following phrases characterizes the narration of Part 1?

A) A linear timeline of John’s adolescence

B) An exploration of John’s inner turmoil

C) Prose on the intricacies of Harlem’s churches

D) A guide to resisting the temptation of perdition

6. How are John and Florence similar?

A) They both despise the filth of the Grimes’s home.

B) They both refuse to believe that Gabriel is their Lord’s servant.

C) They both adore the work of their church.

D) They both struggle with their sexuality.

7. What literary device does Florence use in her chapter?

A) First-person narration style

B) Biblical parables

C) Flashbacks to her childhood

D) Prose poetry

8. Which of the following sentences best describes how Gabriel reacts to the elders’ mockery of Deborah?

A) He abandons the possibility of marriage.

B) He laughs at her expense.

C) He understands God has chosen him.

D) He retreats to the North.

9. During the church service, the narrator notes, “On this threshing-floor the child was the soul that struggled to the light, and it was the church that was in labor, that did not cease to push and pull, calling on the name of Jesus.” (Part 2, Chapter 2) Which of the following literary terms are used in this quote?

A) Paradox

B) Palindrome

C) Pathos

D) Personification

10. Which of the following phrases best describes how Gabriel feels about his congregation after Esther leaves?

A) Filled with hypocrisy

B) Pure as lambs

C) Fervent men of God

D) Conquering their personal shackles

11. Which of the following reasons best describes why Elizabeth feels betrayed by her father?

A) He abused her as a child.

B) He did not rescue her from her aunt’s house.

C) He chose his second family over her.

D) He owned a tavern.

12. Based on their Saturday afternoon outings, which of the following statements reflects Elizabeth’s observations of Richard?

A) He is a detestable person.

B) He is a secular intellectual.

C) He is a staunch evangelist.

D) He is a dishonest “nymphomaniac.”

13. Which words characterize John’s narration at the beginning of Part 3?

A) Unconsciousness and ethereal

B) Taciturn and linear

C) Hopeful and propelling

D) Shameful and deceitful

14. Which literary devices are used liberally throughout the novel?

A) Ironic situations

B) Aphonic witticisms

C) Biblical allusions

D) Scientific descriptions

15. Which of the following phrases describes the genre of the novel?

A) Semi-autobiography

B) Historical fiction

C) Children’s literature

D) Short story collection

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Who are the different narrators in the text? How do their voices differ? How does the narration style affect the novel as a whole?

2. What does it mean to be the “Lord’s anointed” in the context of this novel? Who is this character in the novel, and what is the reaction of the different characters?