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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, whom or what do the police reflect?

2. What event did the author witness on September 11, 2001?

3. The author believes that when the body is shattered, what happens?

4. What does the author imagine white parents might tell their children?

5. What eventually happened to the officer who shot Prince Jones?

Short Essay Questions

1. What impact does the death of Prince Jones have on the author?

2. What revelation does the author have about police officers and authority figures after the September 11 attacks?

3. How, does Coats write, have his eyes been damaged by what he has seen?

4. What reasons does the author give for Prince Jones' behavior prior to his death?

5. How did the author's trip to Paris affect his view of what it means to live in a black body?

6. What lesson does the mother of the boy on page 112 (Lucia McBath) try to impart to the author's son?

7. According to the author, how do the behaviors of police departments reflect American values?

8. Why does the author worry that others will tell his son that the lessons he is trying to teach are an unnecessary part of the past?

9. How is the author disappointed by the lack of education during his Civil War battlefield tour?

10. Why did the author move to New York?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the author compare his experiences with public education to the expectations that society has for black people? What does it mean when he says that “the schools were not concerned with curiosity,” but with “compliance” ? What statement might the author be making about racial injustice in the American school system?

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

Do Coates' words empower all black Americans? The author writes primarily about the experiences of black American men until the final section, where he interviews the mother of Prince Jones. Why might Coates have focused on the aspects of being a black man in America, as opposed to incorporating the struggle of the black woman as well? Since his memoir is an open letter to his son, why might he have made the decision to focus on the more masculine aspects of black America? Would the text have been as effective, or more effective, if he had incorporated more feminine experiences?

(see the answer keys)

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