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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. Who does the music of the afro-horn kill?

2. What shacks are supposed to be haunted?

3. What happens if you curse the echo tree in "Echo Tree"?

4. What do Tate and his friends all want desperately in "Double Nigger"?

5. Who is Layton's grandmother's good friend?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Layton's grandmother tell him to give the white man who comes to collect money the good water in "Goodbye, Sweetwater"?

2. Who saves Fon from lynching in "Fon"?

3. Where does Headeye go in "Ark of Bones" at the end of the story?

4. What is one reason Dumas has the characters constantly joking in "Double Nigger"?

5. How does Layton Bridges generally feel in "Goodbye, Sweetwater"?

6. In "Rope of Wind," what happens to the prisoner at the end?

7. What seems to be the purpose of the work the men on the ark do in "Ark of Bones"?

8. What does Nillmon intend to do to Fon in "Fon"?

9. Who is Layton waiting for in "Goodbye, Sweetwater"?

10. In "Ark of Bones," what is Headeye known for?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What relationship does Dumas draw between the topics of frustration, oppression, and racism in this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What do you think Dumas means the man in the river to symbolize in the story "The University of Man," and why do you think so? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What do you think Dumas intends the blackbird to symbolize in "The Eagle the Dove and the Blackbird," and why do you think so? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 563 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample