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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 is the name of Richard's foreman?

2. Who throws Richard out of the May Day parade?

3. What event causes Richard to lose a lot of his hours at the post office?

4. What is the name of the drug doctors use to sedate the dogs?

5. What does Richard say he wants his bridge of words to connect with?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Richard realize as he stands in line at the relief station?

2. Who was Marcus Garvey?

3. What problems does Richard face as publicity agent for the Federal Negro Theater?

4. Why don't Southern people like it when blacks move to Northern cities?

5. Why does Richard find Chicago so startling?

6. How do Richard's white co-workers in the cafe shock him?

7. What does Richard decide at the end of the book?

8. What happens when Richard joins the May Day parade?

9. How do Richard's co-workers react when he tells them he is moving North?

10. Why does Richard want to read H.L Mencken?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why did Richard develop sympathies towards the Communist Party? How did Wright view Communist ideas later on in life?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the relationship between education and racist attitudes.

1) How has education played an important part in changing racial attitudes?

2) How did education in the past help to develop racial attitudes?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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