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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Which line most clearly echoes the tension between "little girls" (line 5) and "prowling" (line 6)?
(a) Line 12, "Are trudging, thinly shod, from street to street."
(b) Line 9, "Through the lone night until the last snow-flake."
(c) Line 11, "The dusky, half-clad girls of tired feet."
(d) Line 7, "Through the long night until the silver break."

Short Answer Questions

1. Which lines of each stanza are indented?

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

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Describe the form of this poem.

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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