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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. How many stories in total are presented within the collection Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick?
(a) 21.
(b) 31.
(c) 15.
(d) 11.

2. Which member of the family disapproves of John's desire to travel?
(a) His uncle.
(b) His father.
(c) His older brother.
(d) His mother.

3. What kind of a pet does Sam have in the story "The Conversion of Sam"?
(a) A cat.
(b) A fish.
(c) A dog.
(d) A bird.

4. Which character in "Black Death" is identified as the local "conjure man" (101)?
(a) Elijah.
(b) Spunk.
(c) Old Man Morgan.
(d) John.

5. Every story in the collection Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick belongs to which literary movement?
(a) The Harlem Renaissance.
(b) Surrealism.
(c) Romanticism.
(d) Transcendentalism.

Short Answer Questions

1. As depicted in "The Bone of Contention," men living in Eatonville gather at Joe Clarke's store to socialize, though they use what errand as an excuse?

2. An accident with which object brings an end to Spunk's life?

3. Who is Mr. Bronner, in relation to Sam within the story "The Conversion of Sam"?

4. Which member of the family featured in "Drenched in Light" always does the dishes?

5. Near the end of the story "Magnolia Flower," it is stated that John and Magnolia Flower had gotten married how many years before?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Joe Kanty meet his end in the story entitled "Spunk"?

2. Discuss the significance of the final passages included within the story "John Redding Goes to Sea."

3. What does Spunk's Stetson hat represent within the story entitled "Spunk"?

4. Who is Beau Diddely?

5. Discuss an instance in the collection when Hurston emphasizes the way in which white people exoticize black people.

6. Describe the end of Bentley's life.

7. What is the symbolism of the tablecloth featured in the story "Drenched in Light"?

8. With which literary movement is Zora Neale Hurston most closely associated and why?

9. In what way is Hurston a bit of an anomaly within the literary movement with which she is associated?

10. Describe the ten-year-old protagonist of the story "John Redding Goes to Sea," as he is introduced at the beginning of the story.

(see the answer keys)

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