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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. Who is quoted as having said "It is better to marry than to burn" in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) St. Paul.
(b) St. George.
(c) St. Andrew.
(d) St. Peter.

2. The author asserts in "Down at the Cross" that "a civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be" what?
(a) "Ignorant."
(b) "Spineless."
(c) "Isolated."
(d) "Scared."

3. The author states in "Down at the Cross" that what "and heroism have been made synonymous except when it comes to blacks"?
(a) "Violence."
(b) "Power."
(c) "Strength."
(d) "Love."

4. After the confrontation at the bar, the author says that one of his companions, a Korean War veteran, said that the bar had been the white man's fight too. How did the white man respond?
(a) "I lost my conscience a long time ago."
(b) "I don't care about the war."
(c) "I thank you for your service, Sir."
(d) "You don't fight my fights for me."

5. In describing white liberal attitudes in "Down at the Cross," the author states that "they could deal with the Negro as a symbol or a victim but has no real sense of him as" what?
(a) "A man."
(b) "An intellect."
(c) "A political power."
(d) "A master."

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the author respond when asked by the female pastor, "Whose little boy are you?"

2. What qualities does the author claim Elijah Muhammad has invested in his followers in "Down at the Cross"?

3. When was Elijah Muhammad born?

4. What does the author say "changes, totally and forever, the nature of reality and brings into devastating question the true meaning of man's history" in "Down at the Cross"?

5. What does the author claim to be the seeming "sum of our achievement" as humans, in "Down at the Cross"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe his departure from Elijah Muhammad's home in "Down at the Cross"?

2. How would you describe the author's sense of anger in the beginning of "Down at the Cross"?

3. How would you describe the central subject and structure of the first part of "Down at the Cross"?

4. Who was Elijah Muhammad? What was his role within the Nation of Islam?

5. What hypocrisies in Christianity and the Nation of Islam does Baldwin point out in "Down at the Cross"?

6. What does the author remark about the Holocaust in "Down at the Cross"?

7. What differences does the author point out between Christianity and Islam in the second section of "Down at the Cross"?

8. What does the author describe discussing with his driver after leaving Elijah Muhammad's home in "Down at the Cross"?

9. How would you describe the tone in the second section of "Down at the Cross"? How has the author's perspective changed?

10. What parallels does the author draw between his father and Elijah Muhammad in "Down at the Cross"?

(see the answer keys)

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