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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 four men responsible for the deal that resulted in Cudjo's status as a slave included how many of the Meaher brothers?

2. What does Cudjo say had been his mother's name?

3. Cudjo states that he has been "in Americky soil since" (19) what year?

4. How many fully biologically-related younger siblings had Cudjo had?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Cudjo discusses a particular practice undertaken by rich men's daughters in his former community in Africa. What is that practice he describes?

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

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 Cudjo's reaction when Hurston calls him Kossula?

7. What does Cudjo say about secrecy within his former community in Africa?

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

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

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 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

How does Hurston's use of the third person point of view serve her purposes over the course of the book? Discuss how Hurston’s choice of point of view at certain points within the text helps to advance her treatment of at least three particular themes within the text.

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This section contains 1,048 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample