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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. The King of Dahomey, on whose behalf Cudjo was captured and sold into slavery, is said to have maintained an army of how many people?

2. What crop does Cudjo say he plants only for the benefit of his twin great-granddaughters?

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

4. Whom does Cudjo name as having decided adultery cases within his former community in Africa?

5. In what season does Hurston interview Cudjo for the first time within Barracoon's pages?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. 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?

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

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

5. What major event happens within Cudjo's family in the story he tells at the start of Chapter III?

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

7. After Cudjo tells Hurston about his grandfather, what happens to make Hurston cut their visit short for the day?

8. In the Preface, Hurston states her reasons for faithfully representing Cudjo's story "without the intrusion of interpretation" (3). What does she mean?

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

10. What is the custom Cudjo describes that involves the whiskers of a leopard?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of three of Barracoon’s main symbols. How do these symbols connect to the overall themes within the text?

Essay Topic 2

How does the theme of deception arise within the text of Hurston's book Barracoon and what messages are sent about the presence of deception within the human condition?

Essay Topic 3

How do Cudjo and Zora Neale Hurston use sensory details in order to paint a vivid portrait of anecdotes and details outlined within the narrative of Barracoon? Discuss at least two scenes that include use of sensory details and pull quotes from these scenes to support your claim.

(see the answer keys)

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