Everyday Use Quiz

Read this example of dialect from “Everyday Use.” “… I been saving ‘em for long enough with nobody using ‘em.” Which of these sentences most accurately restates the example in formal English?

• “I have been saving him for a long time from situations in which other people take advantage of him.”

• “I am keeping them safe for a long enough time so that nobody harms them.”

• “I have been saving them for a long enough time with nobody using them.”

• “I’ve been saving this here stuff for long enough without nobody using it.”

Which of these sentences from “Everyday Use” contains an example of Southern regionalism?

• In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands.

• In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day.

• Impressed with her they worshiped the well-turned phrase, the cute shape, the scalding humor that erupted like bubbles in lye.

• Wangero, though, went on through the chitlins and corn bread, the greens and everything else.

In this sentence about a character in “Everyday Use,” what does the context suggest is the meaning of the exocentric compound getup? Dee wore a colorful getup that swirled down to the ground and shone brightly in the sun

• outfit

• energy

• hair wrap

• alarm clock

The compound words defined here all appear in “Everyday Use.” Which of the words is an exocentric compound?

• backstage: the area behind the part of a stage that the audience can see

• eyelids: folds of flesh that cover the front of the eyeballs

• nightgown: dress-like garment worn at night

• dimwits: people who are not very clever

What do the details in this passage from “Everyday Use” reveal most clearly about the character of Dee (Wangero)? "Dee...started rifling through it…“Mama,” Wangero said sweet as a bird. “Can I have these old quilts?”"

• Dee has fond memories of her grandmother’s quilts.

• Dee has come to steal the family’s heirlooms.

• Dee brashly goes after what she wants.

• Dee respects her mother’s privacy.

What do the details in this passage from “Everyday Use” reveal most clearly about the character of Maggie? "[Maggie] looked at her sister with...fear but she wasn’t mad...This was the way she knew God to work."

• Maggie is bitter toward her sister.

• Maggie has no feeling for the quilts.

• Maggie accepts the hardships that life has handed her.

• Maggie is a needy person who depends upon her mother and sister.

Which of these passages from “Everyday Use” best supports the idea that Dee wants the quilts made of scraps because she wants to display them?

• “No,” said Wangero. “I don’t want those. They are stitched around the borders by machine.” “That’ll make them last better,” I said.

• “That’s not the point,” said Wangero. “These are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear.”

• “The truth is,” I said, “I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas.” She gasped like a bee had stung her. “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” she said.

• “What would you do with them?” “Hang them,” she said. As if that was the only thing you could do with quilts.

Which of these passages from “Everyday Use” best supports the idea that the cause of Maggie's scars was a house fire?

• Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks.

• How long ago was it that the other house burned? Ten, twelve years? Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flake

• I used to think [Dee] hated Maggie, too. But that was before we raised the money, the church and me, to send her to Augusta to school. She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits.

• It was Grandma Dee and Big Dee who taught [Maggie] how to quilt herself. She stood there with her scarred hands hidden in the folds of her skirt.

What does the narrator of “Everyday Use” mean by saying that Dee would prefer her to have “skin like an uncooked barley pancake”?

• skin that is moist and smooth

• skin that is soft and sticky

• skin that is fresh smelling

• skin that is light in color

Which of these actions or events would most likely prompt a hangdog expression?

• winning a contest

• finishing a good book

• telling a friend that you lost her scarf

• getting a good report from the doctor