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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What can bad men not escape according to "A Song for Myself"?
(a) Guilt.
(b) The afterlife.
(c) The police.
(d) Their conscience.

2. What does the mechanic in "The Shift of Gears" compare shifting too?
(a) Riding a horse.
(b) Sewing.
(c) Eating soup.
(d) Riding a bike.

3. Who does the farmer in "Old Man Michael" blame for his bad crops?
(a) The workers.
(b) The weather.
(c) His ex-wife.
(d) Coyotes.

4. Where does the poem "The Bard of Addis Ababa" take place?
(a) France.
(b) Russia.
(c) Africa.
(d) Alaska.

5. Who is Stokowski?
(a) A doctor.
(b) A lawyer.
(c) A painter.
(d) A composer.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the poem "The Ballad of the Rattlesnake," what color is the man's dyed hair?

2. Where does "The Shift of Gears" take place?

3. How many historic places does Tolson plan to rendezvous at?

4. What hurts the farmer's feet in "Old Man Michael"?

5. Where are the bones of the man and snake left behind in "The Ballad of the Rattlesnake"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Tolson's vision of a poet in the "The Poet."

2. Why does no one listen to the hillman in the poem "Vesuvius"?

3. Who are the bad people that Tolson mentions in his poem "Rendezvous with America," and why does he feel the need to mention them?

4. What might "The Shift of Gears" be a metaphor for?

5. How does Tolson define bravery in the poem "The Big Game Hunter"?

6. How is hatred the downfall of white men in "The Blindness of Scorn"?

7. Describe the bard in "The Bard of Addis Ababa."

8. How does the poem "The Mountain Climber" represent the struggle to acclimate to America?

9. Why is it important that Tolson does not identify the race of the person who tells the story in "The Ballad of the Rattlesnake"?

10. How does Tolson remove black men from responsibility in "Larghetto"?

(see the answer keys)

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