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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 Reva confirm to Sue?

2. What does Taylor say he saw while he was being whipped?

3. What does the sheriff brace Johnny's knee on?

4. Which of Taylor's guests will he talk to first?

5. What does Ruth give the baby to play with?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Brother Bond say has happened to the Communists?

2. What does Taylor instruct his wife to do in Chapter 18?

3. How does the sheriff break Johnny's ear drum?

4. What idea does Sue have in Chapter 25?

5. Why does Silas enter the room in a good mood in this chapter?

6. What is Johnny-Boy doing in Chapter 21?

7. What does Taylor say about his past in Chapter 17?

8. What does Sue worry about in Chapter 22?

9. How does Sue react to the white men in her kitchen?

10. What does Taylor imagine having the strength to do in Chapter 19?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

All the stories in the book are written in the third person. Why do you think Wright chose to write in the third person? How do you think the meaning of the book would change if it were written in the first person?

Essay Topic 2

What rules did the Southern whites enforce on the blacks? How did they blacks eventually manage to overturn such laws? How important were people like Richard Wright in highlighting the stupidity of such rules?

Essay Topic 3

Examine black masculinity.

1) In what ways did the whites oppress black masculinity?

2) How did the white man's oppression of black masculinity affect black men?

3) How have black men reacted to the oppression of their masculinity?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 673 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample