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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 penalty for killing a leopard and failing to bring the king its required body parts, according to Cudjo?
(a) A hefty fine.
(b) Death.
(c) 5 years in prison.
(d) The loss of a wife.

2. Upon leaving Cudjo at the end of Chapter I, Hurston describes him as having his "bare feet exposed" (23) to a cloud composed of what types of insects?
(a) Horseflies.
(b) Mosquitoes.
(c) Cicadas.
(d) Gnats.

3. Cudjo states that if a person were found guilty of murder in his former community in Africa, then what consequence would have been levied upon that person?
(a) The murderer would be executed by the remaining family members of the murder victim.
(b) The murderer would be bound to the dead body of the person he had murdered and would be left there for dead.
(c) The murderer would have had to pay a very heavy fine.
(d) The murderer would be thrown into prison for many years.

4. According to Cudjo, it had been the custom for wives of a deceased husband to take what action immediately upon the man's death?
(a) Give all of their money to the king.
(b) Whitewash their homes.
(c) Pack to move to fat-houses.
(d) Shave their heads.

5. What body of water borders the land on which the barracoons housing Cudjo and other slaves stood?
(a) The Gulf of Guinea.
(b) The Bay of Bengal.
(c) Lake Oswego.
(d) The Atlantic Ocean.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long after a woman's husband dies is she allowed to wed, according to Cudjo when talking about his former community in Africa?

2. At what location were the barracoons from which Cudjo was taken by the owner of the Clotilda?

3. How old does Cudjo say he had been when he had last seen Africa?

4. How many slaves were bought in the same transaction in which Cudjo was purchased?

5. What does Cudjo say had been his father's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Hurston distinguish between the two types of gifts she brings to Cudjo at the start of Chapter IV and why does she make this distinction?

2. What methods of deception are used by the men at the helm of the Clotilde when Cudjo is aboard the ship?

3. What is Zora Neale Hurston's purpose for including a photograph of a doorway just prior to the Preface of Barracoon?

4. How old is Cudjo at the time he is first interviewed by Zora Neale Hurston and what special problems does his age pose to Hurston's process?

5. What is the significance of the year 1859 in Cudjo's life?

6. What are the circumstances of Zora Neale Hurston first meeting with Cudjo?

7. What does Cudjo mean when he tells Hurston that his family "ain' got no ivory be de door" (19)?

8. At what age does Cudjo describe leaving Africa, and what does he say about the number of initiation rites he had completed by that time?

9. Explain the customs followed by the wives of a deceased man in Cudjo's former African community.

10. Describe the death rituals Cudjo describes as being followed within his former African community.

(see the answer keys)

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