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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. After her wild behavior, who defends Karintha?

2. According to the "Song of the Son," where ought we pour our soul?

3. After her first baby was born, how did the townspeople react towards Becky?

4. What has Karintha's abuse in the past caused her to do?

5. How does Esther think that men feel about her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why won't Muriel go with Dan?

2. What is the speaker asking of God in "Prayer"?

3. Given the content of the poem "Conversion," how might the author feel about the process of conversion?

4. Discuss the visual and social contrasts that the author sets up between Black Seventh Street and the rest of white Washington.

5. How is Becky treated after it is found that she is pregnant with a black man's child?

6. How does the author describe the forest in "Nullo"?

7. Describe Muriel's physical appearance at the theater.

8. As Karintha becomes a woman, what do young men do for her?

9. What does the house upon Rhobert's head represent?

10. Why might the author choose to use a dog as a metaphor for the soul in "Calling Jesus"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The theme of love is often explored in "Cane". Write an essay using at least three examples answering the following: Where do we see love depicted in "Cane"? Who is the love shared by? Rejected by? How are these stories different? Similar?

Essay Topic 2

In "Cane," we see examples of both technology and nature. Where do we see both taking place? How are they portrayed? Does Toomer present one in a positive or negative light? Why might the comparison be made? Are they representative of anything?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the first section of the book, Toomer goes to great lengths to describe the Georgian landscape. How is the land physically described? What attributes does Toomer attribute to both the land and its people? How do we see these reflected in the characters?

(see the answer keys)

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