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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 is the third stream of thought DuBois describes in Chapter 6?

2. To whom does the burden of the Negro Problem belong, in DuBois' account?

3. What problem are the black farmers up against, that was not a problem during slavery?

4. What was DuBois’ solution to feeling isolated by his race?

5. How does DuBois characterize the Burkes’ home, when he returns to their area?

Short Essay Questions

1. What gift does DuBois say the North made to the blacks in the South after the war?

2. How does DuBois characterize Josie?

3. What was the effect of Field Order 15?

4. How does DuBois describe the atmosphere at Fisk University?

5. What was Booker T. Washington’s program for blacks, and why did it prevail among its competing visions.

6. Where does DuBois see the first evidence of blacks’ cultural contribution?

7. What problem did freed blacks pose for the Union army, and what solution was ultimately found?

8. What had happened to Josie in the years between DuBois’ teaching in her community and then his return?

9. What are the three thoughts DuBois describes at the beginning of Chapter 6—and the three afterthoughts that follow them?

10. What was the Atlanta Compromise?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

DuBois uses the Veil in a number of ways, some of which are contradictory. How does the Veil work, in The Souls of Black Folk. How does the image of the Veil measure the status and progress of blacks in America, according to W. E. B. DuBois?

Essay Topic 2

Use this book as a meditation on the value of a five-star rating system. Is a five-star system sufficient to a book like this? Would you need to have sub-topics for the rating system, for plot, characterization, language, etc? What other sub-topics would you need? What value or importance gets lost in a five-star scale? Design a scale that would be better for this book.

Essay Topic 3

What is the role of the Sorrow Songs in DuBois’ vision of how American culture could evolve over time? Using examples from the text, particularly from the last chapter, assess the importance of the sorrow song in either removing the Veil or making it bearable.

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