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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 is the town logo in "The Town of Fathers"?

2. What does the Malay wear in "The Blindness of Scorn"?

3. What did slaves do on slaves ships in "Lento Grave"?

4. What do the Indians in "The Ballad of the Rattlesnake" do to the white man?

5. Who is Lin Yutang?

Short Essay Questions

1. What might the volcano's eruption signify in the poem "Vesuvius"?

2. What is the lesson that Tolson puts forth in "When Great Dogs Fight"?

3. In "Dark Symphony," how does Tolson suggest black men formed a brotherhood?

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

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

6. Why does the teacher die in "The Gallows"?

7. Why do the black men laugh at the farmer in "Old Man Michael"?

8. How does Babylon symbolize America in the poem "Babylon"?

9. Why does the narrator in "An Ex-Judge at the Bar" feel guilty, and how does he appease this guilt?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When considering Tolson's life, where do you believe he found the inspiration for his poems? What does this book cause you to think about the author's life? What do you believe inspired Tolson more, the present or past?

Essay Topic 2

In the poem, "Libretto for the Republic of Liberia," Tolson compares America to the narrator's mother, Liberia to his wife, and Africa to his brother. What does Tolson mean by this comparison?

Essay Topic 3

How does the setting effect the reader's experience of the poem? Does it matter that the poem is set in another country or time period? Describe the setting of the poem of you choice and explain how it effected your experience of the poem.

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This section contains 701 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample