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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 does the black man want in "Tempo Primo"?
(a) A better tomorrow.
(b) Wealth.
(c) Justice.
(d) Fame.

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

3. Why does the bartender judge the narrator in "An Ex-Judge at the Bar"?
(a) He hit a woman.
(b) He killed a black soldier in the Flanders Field.
(c) He has no manners.
(d) He doesn't drink scotch.

4. What president is mentioned in "The Dictionary of the Wolf"?
(a) Bush.
(b) Lincoln.
(c) Washington.
(d) Clinton.

5. Who does the skull the mountain climber finds belong to?
(a) A cow.
(b) A previous climber.
(c) A bear.
(d) A sheep.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long does Tolson say blacks were enslaved in "Andante Sostenuto"?

2. What sounds does the poet hear in "Rendezvous With America"?

3. Who is the object in "Damascus Bride" fit for?

4. According to "A Song for Myself," what can one find in death?

5. What do the wise people think of the hillmen's opinions in "Vesuvius"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the poet trying to prove in his poem "Rendezvous with America"? How does he prove this?

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

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

5. What is the significance of the the sign in "The Town of Fathers" that reads "The Blackest Land / And The Whitest People"?

6. What does Tolson hope for himself in the poem "A Song for Myself"? What does he hope for the reader?

7. How does Tolson describe the common people in "Rendezvous with America"?

8. What will bring death to the narrator in "If You Should Lie to Me"?

9. In "A Scholar Looks at an Oak," how is the black man represented?

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

(see the answer keys)

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