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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 did the townspeople secretly bring Becky?

2. In what condition is the soil in November after the boll weevil infestation?

3. What kind of songs are being sung in the cotton fields by field workers in "Georgia Dusk"?

4. What did Carma shoot?

5. What do the cotton song's lyrics reference?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator describe Carma?

2. What effect does the smoke have on Karintha's surroundings the day that she gives birth to her child?

3. Why might the author have chosen to describe Cloine while sleeping in "Evening Song"?

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

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

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

7. Describe the procession of men leaving work as told in "Georgia Dusk."

8. How does Karintha act out as a 12-year-old?

9. According to Helen, why are girls fascinated with Paul?

10. Describe the woman in the poem "Face".

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Women play a huge role in Jean Toomer's "Cane". How are they depicted? Does Toomer seem to respect or disrespect women? Which characters do we see supporting this assertion?

Essay Topic 2

Much of "Cane" deals with race relations and the Black/white divide, but there are also many examples of segmentation within the Black community. Where do we see this happening in the book? Which characters experience being singled out or discriminated upon because of their skin tone? Who is doing this to them? How are their experiences similar/different?

Essay Topic 3

Doubt in relationships plays a large role in character development in "Cane". Where do we see doubt taking place? Whom or what is being doubted? How does the author portray this to the reader, and in what ways is it effective? What does this doubt mean in the larger societal context?

(see the answer keys)

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