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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "Harlem Shadows," Lines 1-18.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What are the sex workers wearing on their feet?
(a) Boots meant to protect them from snow and rain.
(b) Light shoes meant to be worn indoors.
(c) Thick-soled shoes that make them appear taller.
(d) Elaborate shoes with high heels.

2. What is being referred to with the expression "silver break" (line 7)?
(a) Dawn.
(b) Streetlights.
(c) Reflections.
(d) Headlights.

3. In line 1, "footsteps of a lass" is an example of which technique?
(a) Alliteration.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Synesthesia.
(d) Sibilance.

4. In line 16, what word does the speaker use to describe the feet of his own race?
(a) Fearful.
(b) Sacred.
(c) Aching.
(d) Prideful.

5. In the first image of the sex workers, what is being emphasized?
(a) The burden of social expectations.
(b) Their determination.
(c) Their reaction to the cold.
(d) The motion of their bodies.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the word "shod" in line 12 refer to?

2. What does the expression "feet of clay" in line 15 refer to?

3. Which line most clearly echoes the tension between "little girls" (line 5) and "prowling" (line 6)?

4. What color does the speaker assign to the sex workers' feet?

5. Which two lines of each stanza create a kind of refrain in this poem?

(see the answer key)

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