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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. According to the author, the purpose of the public school system is to:

2. What field did the author pursue after he left Howard University?

3. What did the author's father collect?

4. What realization did the author make about death in the sixth grade?

5. Why did the author refrain from comforting his son when Michael Brown's killers were set free?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is meant by "Tolstoy is the Tolstoy of the Zulus?"

2. What is the symbolism behind the author's son's name?

3. Why did the author's son experience such extreme grief when Michael Brown's killer was set free?

4. How does research and study affect the author as a young man?

5. What does the author mean when he says the school system and the streets are "two arms of the same beast"?

6. According to the author, what is the purpose of the public school system?

7. What role did violence play in the author's childhood?

8. What does the author mean when he asks: "How do I live free in this black body?"

9. How important were books to the author as he was growing up?

10. Why did the author's mother encourage him to write?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the author's encounter with his unnamed French friend in Paris. What reservations did Coates have throughout the entire day? Why was he uncomfortable having his friend pay for the meal? What past experiences might have prompted him to insist that his friend walk out of the restaurant first? Describe what the author means when he says he feels he missed out on part of the experience because his eyes "were blindfolded by fear."

Essay Topic 2

While at Howard University, the author was influenced by such poets such as Robert Hayden and Ethelbert Miller. Their lyrical influence is still evident even in his memoir. How does the author's style of writing and choice of words reflect a poetic influence? Be specific in the examples you give. What are the potential benefits of using poetic language in a non-fiction work such as "Between the World and Me"? What are the potential drawbacks of using figurative, rather than literal language?

Essay Topic 3

The author states that when he was troubled or afraid, “I could not retreat, as did so many, into the church and its mysteries.” (page 28) How did Coates use academic study as a balm to soothe the chaos surrounding his life? In the same section he also says that he had “no sense that any just God was on my side”. Whom or what did the author use in lieu of a spiritual guide? Did he find a sense of inner peace with his books? Explain your answer citing examples from the memoir.

(see the answer keys)

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