View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 8 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. What does the word "shod" in line 12 refer to?
(a) Footwear.
(b) Clothing.
(c) Sound.
(d) Movement.

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

5. Whose presence is implied in "To bend and barter at desire's call" (line 4)?
(a) Pimps.
(b) Bystanders.
(c) Clients.
(d) Police officers.

Short Answer Questions

1. In lines 2 and 3, the expression "when the night lets fall/ Its veil" is an example of which technique?

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

3. Which lines of each stanza are indented?

4. In line 1, "footsteps of a lass" is an example of which technique?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the second stanza set up a contrast between dark and light?

2. What is the poem's first image, and how does it set a tone for the rest of the poem?

3. How does McKay convey the idea that these women are sex workers?

4. What does the poem conclude is the cause of the women's choice to pursue sex work?

5. How does the use of the word "prowling" contrast with the poem's previous descriptions of the women?

6. Describe the form of this poem.

7. Where is Harlem and why is it significant to the meaning of this poem?

8. What indications does the speaker give that he feels the sex workers' choices indicate something about all Black people in America?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 706 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample