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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. What sorts of toys was the author not allowed to have as a child?

2. How old was Tamir Rice when he was shot?

3. How did the author's father react when the author threatened his 9th grade teacher?

4. Where did the author meet the mother of his son?

5. What 1986 event helped solidify the author's view that violence is inevitable?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. For what reasons did the author's father punish him and why?

4. What role did religion play in the author's childhood?

5. How does the author use poetry to express his thoughts?

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

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

8. What revelation does the author have about the European perception of Africans during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

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

10. What assumptions does the author make about PG County (Prince George's County) police officers and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Fear is a recurring theme in the author's memoir. What role does fear play in the lives of black Americans? How has fear preserved the author's body? Has fear repressed the author? What are some of the positive and negative effects of the fear he has experienced throughout his life?

Essay Topic 3

The author spends a great deal of time describing his Mecca, Howard University, as an escape from the fear that once plagued his life as a child on the streets of Baltimore. Keeping in mind that Howard is a private university that not every student can afford, what other Meccas might exist in America that could parallel the author's experience? Are there other places or experiences that could provide a similar bond of safety and community for the black student? If so, what? Is the author's Mecca a physical place or a state of mind? Explain your answer citing examples from the author's work.

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