View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What emotion did the author experience when sitting in the public garden in Paris?
(a) Anxiety.
(b) Joy.
(c) Loneliness.
(d) Fear.

2. What did the author notice about white children in Manhattan?
(a) They were hungry.
(b) There were very few of them.
(c) They were fearless.
(d) They clung to their parents.

3. Why does the author believe Prince Jones was willing to die?
(a) For the cause of black power.
(b) In order to protect his family.
(c) For the greater good of man.
(d) Because he believed in God.

4. Where was the memorial service for Prince Jones held?
(a) Howard University.
(b) Arlington Cemetery.
(c) Harvard University.
(d) The White House.

5. According to the author, what part of his body has suffered the most?
(a) His head.
(b) His heart.
(c) His feet.
(d) His eyes.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the author, what is the problem with defining a race?

2. Which protest sign did the author see while in France that reminded him of his blackness?

3. According to the author, what has his son never feared?

4. How old was the author's son when Coats first took him along on an interview?

5. When the author sees a police officer, he automatically thinks:

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the author's description of the slave burial plot in southern Manhattan?

2. What does the author mean by every country having an "above" and a "below"?

3. How is the author disappointed by the lack of education during his Civil War battlefield tour?

4. Why does the author worry that others will tell his son that the lessons he is trying to teach are an unnecessary part of the past?

5. What reasons does the author give for the woman feeling validated in pushing his son off the escalator?

6. What lesson does the mother of the boy on page 112 (Lucia McBath) try to impart to the author's son?

7. How does the author contrast black and white societies?

8. What reasons does the author give for Prince Jones' behavior prior to his death?

9. How, does Coats write, have his eyes been damaged by what he has seen?

10. How did the author's trip to Paris affect his view of what it means to live in a black body?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,416 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample