Chapter 8 Quiz — Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison

Comprehension Quiz: Chapter 8

Why does the narrator write directly to Mr. Emerson rather than simply delivering the letter through a secretary?

  • He has lost all of Bledsoe's letters except the one addressed to Emerson
  • He has grown impatient with the polite refusals and wants to try a different approach
  • Young Emerson contacts him first and invites him to write directly
  • He learns from another trustee that writing directly is more effective

What literary work does young Emerson allude to when describing his relationship with the narrator?

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, comparing himself to the sympathetic Northerner
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, calling himself "Huckleberry" to the narrator's "Jim"
  • Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, comparing their encounter to Ishmael and Queequeg
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, comparing himself to Nick Carraway as an observer

What does Bledsoe's letter instruct the trustees to do with the narrator?

  • Help him find a position at a Black college in another city far from the original campus
  • Report his whereabouts to Bledsoe so the college can monitor his activities closely
  • Keep him "running"—offer enough hope to prevent his return but never provide real help
  • Deny him employment entirely and encourage him to return to his family in the South

What job lead does young Emerson provide to the narrator?

  • A clerical position at a publishing house in lower Manhattan with decent pay
  • A teaching assistant role at a university in Harlem for the fall semester
  • A factory position at Liberty Paints, which is currently hiring new workers
  • A position as a personal assistant to his father at the Emerson family office

What personal details does young Emerson reveal about himself during their conversation?

  • He recently graduated from medical school and is estranged from his mother
  • He has undergone psychoanalysis and feels alienated from his father's world
  • He was expelled from his own university and sympathizes with the narrator's situation
  • He is secretly funding scholarships for Black students against his father's wishes

What is the primary symbolic function of the sealed letter in Chapter 8?

  • It represents the narrator's hope for the future and his connection to his college education
  • It symbolizes the gap between appearance and reality—recommendation on the outside, condemnation within
  • It stands for the unbreakable bond between a mentor and his student in the African American tradition
  • It represents the power of written language to overcome racial barriers in professional settings

How does the narrator physically react when he reads the contents of Bledsoe's letter?

  • He calmly folds the letter and asks young Emerson pointed questions about what to do next
  • He immediately tears the letter into pieces and throws them on the floor in anger
  • He experiences a wave of nausea and rage so intense that it temporarily paralyzes him
  • He laughs bitterly and tells young Emerson that he suspected the truth all along

Why does the narrator decide NOT to return south to confront Bledsoe?

  • Young Emerson convinces him that legal action would be more effective than a confrontation
  • He realizes the futility of confronting someone who completely controls the institution
  • He has already spent all his money and cannot afford a train ticket back to the South
  • He receives a telegram from his family warning him not to return to the college campus

Which of the following events actually occurs in Chapter 8?

  • The narrator meets Mr. Emerson senior and is told directly that the letter is negative
  • Young Emerson shows the narrator the contents of Bledsoe's sealed letter
  • The narrator opens the letter himself after becoming suspicious of its contents
  • A secretary at the Emerson office accidentally reveals the letter's true nature

Which of the following does NOT happen in Chapter 8?

  • Young Emerson references the Club Calamus and Harlem nightlife during their conversation
  • The narrator accepts a job lead at Liberty Paints from young Emerson
  • The narrator successfully confronts Dr. Bledsoe about the deceptive letters by telephone
  • The narrator walks through Manhattan in a state of disorientation after leaving the office

In the context of Chapter 8, what does the word "severance" mean when Bledsoe writes about the narrator's "severance with the college"?

  • A temporary leave of absence granted for personal or medical reasons
  • A permanent cutting off or separation; a complete break from an institution
  • A financial payment given to an employee upon departure from a position
  • A formal disciplinary warning that remains on a student's permanent record

What does the word "insidious" mean as applied to Bledsoe's letters of supposed recommendation?

  • Written hastily without careful thought or attention to proper formatting
  • Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way but with harmful effects; treacherously deceptive
  • Overly formal and verbose in a way that obscures the main point of the communication
  • Containing factual errors and misrepresentations about the student's academic record

What does "deference" mean in the context of the narrator's behavior toward the trustees?

  • Open hostility and resistance toward authority figures and institutional power
  • Humble submission and respectful yielding to the judgment of those in authority
  • Careful strategic planning designed to manipulate authority figures into compliance
  • Indifferent detachment and emotional distance from authority and its expectations

Comprehension Quiz

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