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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What does the narrator describe surrounding the flowers in the front yard of his childhood home in Chapter 1?
2. What does the narrator have for breakfast that is described as “boiled to the consistency where it could be eaten with a fork” in Chapter 4?
3. What does the narrator have for breakfast that is described as “so light and flaky that a fellow with any appetite at all would have no difficulty in disposing of eight or ten” in Chapter 4?
4. What is stolen along with the narrator’s money from his trunk in Chapter 4?
5. The porter tells the narrator that he has not had how many hours of sleep since he left Jersey City in Chapter 4?
Short Essay Questions
1. How is the second Pullman car porter described by the narrator in Chapter 4?
2. What elements does the novel share with the Realist Movement in literary style?
3. Where did James Weldon Johnson attend university? How is this institution described?
4. What is early education like for the narrator? When does he enter public school and how is this setting described?
5. How is the first Pullman car porter described by the narrator? Where does the narrator meet him?
6. How does the theme of identity apply to the novel? How does it apply to the narrator?
7. How is the early childhood of the narrator described in Chapter 1? Where does he live?
8. What event takes place informing the narrator of his ethnic heritage in his early years? How does he react to the information?
9. What advice is the narrator given after his money is stolen in Chapter 4? Who helps him out?
10. Into what classes does the narrator categorize African Americans in Chapter 5?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the underlying racism depicted in the narrator’s classifications of African Americans in Chapter 5. In what ways does this delineation break down to personal prejudice? Do you agree or disagree with the assertions of the narrator? Why?
Essay Topic 2
Discuss the narrator’s decision to return to New York after the closing of the cigar factory. Where do the other workers decide to go to look for work? Who chooses to go with the narrator to the North? Why?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss the theme of race relations in the novel. How is racial prejudice expressed through the language of the narrator during his childhood? How does the language influence the narrator’s views of African Americans and whites? What impact does this language have on readers today?
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This section contains 908 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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