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

2. Hearing what word often brings tears to Cudjo's eyes within the interviews?

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

4. By whom is the Introduction to Barracoon written?

5. There is a large tree in Cudjo's yard that bears what type of fruit?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. What reason does Cudjo give for having another visitor the first day Zora Neale Hurston comes to interview him at his home?

3. What gift does Zora Neale Hurston bring to Cudjo the second time she comes to his home to interview him and what is his reaction to the gift?

4. At the end of the Introduction, Zora Neale Hurston writes that she has been sent to ask three questions of Cudjo. What are the three questions?

5. In the story Cudjo tells about a murderer in his African village, what reason does the murderer give for his actions when he is questioned?

6. What is the significance of Cudjo's reaction when Hurston tells him to focus on his own story rather than on his grandfather's story?

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

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

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

10. What were the consequences for the Meaher family as a result of their decision to fund a journey to import slaves to Alabama?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the theme of injustice portrayed in Zora Neale Hurston’s book Barracoon? Examine the author's treatment of messages regarding injustice throughout the work.

Essay Topic 2

Examine Cudjo’s use of characterization methods to portray his family members and other people whom he discusses with Zora Neale Hurston. What effect do these characterization methods have on the work's inherent themes and messages?

Essay Topic 3

What ultimate message is Hurston's book Barracoon sending about the nature and value of compassion?

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