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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the little boy dreaming of in "To Be Somebody"?
(a) Joe Louis's boxing gloves.
(b) Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves.
(c) George Foreman's boxing gloves.
(d) Mike Tyson's boxing gloves.

2. What two things does Kid Sleep say he doesn't care about/doesn't want to do in "Kid Sleepy"?
(a) Help in the kitchen and help in the garden.
(b) Milk the cow and gather vegetables for dinner.
(c) Clean up his room and put away his toys.
(d) Run around and work downtown.

3. What does the speaker claim "Madam" stands for in "Madam's Past History"?
(a) Business.
(b) Doctor.
(c) Mother.
(d) Professor.

4. What caused Madam to abandon her barbecue stand?
(a) A fire from her huge barbecue pit.
(b) Being mixed up with a no-good man.
(c) She just got bored and tired with it.
(d) Bankruptcy.

5. What does the speaker say life is as fine as in "Life Is Fine"?
(a) A good meal.
(b) Gold.
(c) Wine.
(d) Silk.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Little Old Letter," the speaker claims never to have been so lonely since when?

2. What is being cooked for dinner in "Graduation"?

3. What four things does the speaker in "Necessity" say he must do (in the beginning of the poem)?

4. How does Madam want her name printed in "Madam's Calling Cards"?

5. What does the little boy use as a toy in "Madam and the Charity Child"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the speaker talking about in "Note on Commercial Theater"?

2. What comparison is made in "Me and the Mule"?

3. How does the speaker compare his relationship with the South and the North in "The South"?

4. What is the reader left to assume about how Madam makes money in the poems about her?

5. What major themes are present in the poems included in "Montage of a Dream Deferred"?

6. How are men portrayed in the poems in "Lament Over Love"?

7. What does the speaker in "Hard Daddy" want to be an eagle?

8. What does the speaker in "High to Low" accuse the "low" African-Americans of doing?

9. How does Madam prefer to handle her suitors?

10. What historical figure might Madam Alberta K. Johnson be based upon?

(see the answer keys)

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