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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 does Roy's mother say her husband is trying to keep Roy away from?

2. Which of the following words best describes John's feeling towards the white people on fith avenue?

3. Where did Florence's father leave for after Gabriel's birth?

4. Whose birthday is it at the beginning of the book?

5. What has Florence used the letter for?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Florence and her family so frightened by Deborah's father's attack on the white men?

2. What does the reader learn about John and Gabriel's relationship in this chapter?

3. Why was Richard arrested?

4. How did Gabriel treat Deborah?

5. What happens to Esther and Gabriel's son Royal?

6. Why is John denied such pleasures as dancing?

7. How did Gabriel and Florence's mother react when she left for New York?

8. Hoe does Florence stun Gabriel?

9. Why is Gabriel's past important to John?

10. How does John's mother react to John being saved?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the novel's chronological setting.

1) What were the main concerns during the 1950s. How does Baldwin express these concerns?

2) In what ways do you think the novels meaning would change if it was set in today's society?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the connections between African Americans and Christianity. Why do the students think African Americans embraced Christianity so readily? How did Christianity help African Americans gain more rights? In what way did African Americans use Christianity as a political force?

Essay Topic 3

Compare the characters of Gabriel and Elizabeth.

1) In what ways are their ideas different?

2) What is their relationship to each other?

3) Why do you think they cannot sort out their differences?

(see the answer keys)

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