View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When does the policeman say Richard should not make deliveries to white neighborhoods?

2. What does Brother Mance sell?

3. What does Richard do when his employers mock him for wanting to become a writer?

4. What does Granny equate literary fiction with?

5. Who writes a speech for Wright to read at his graduation?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do people respond to Richard's ambitions to become a writer in Chapter 7?

2. What does Wright think about his writing career in retrospect?

3. Why does Richard get baptized in Chapter 6?

4. What does Richard do with the money he steals?

5. Why does Richard develop a bitter association between his father and hunger?

6. What happens when Richard makes a delivery to a white neighborhood in Chapter 9?

7. Why does Richard continue working for the second white family, even though he dislikes them?

8. Why can Richard not keep his promise to his mother not to fight white children?

9. Why does Richard threaten Addie with a knife in Chapter 4?

10. How does Richard's boss respond when Richard tells him he was bitten by his dog?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine black masculinity.

1) In what ways did the whites oppress black masculinity?

2) How did the white man's oppression of black masculinity affect black men?

3) How have black men reacted to the oppression of their masculinity?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the values of early 20th century America

1) How did the whites view blacks in the early 20th century?

2) What significant changes do you think occurred during this period that changed the way whites viewed blacks?

3) Does today's society share any values with early 20th century America?

Essay Topic 3

Pick a character from the novel and discuss his/her goals and motives. Does he/she achieve his/her motive? Does he/she share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do his/her goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interactions with each other?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 821 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample