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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. In which type of problematic behavior does the white woman at the end of "Drenched in Light" engage?

2. What street does Sam begin to frequent once he falls back into a pattern of compulsive gambling?

3. How many of the stories in the collection have never before been presented to a modern audience?

4. The narrator reveals that the people in Sam's community view him as a what?

5. When Stella asks Jim for a job, she says she had arrived the previous day from which state?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way is the theme of family bonds depicted in the story entitled "John Redding Goes to Sea"?

2. For what reason does John leave the house during a storm in the story entitled "John Redding Goes to Sea"?

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

4. In what way is gambling shown to negatively impact families within the story entitled "The Conversion of Sam"?

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

6. Discuss the significane of the final line of the story entitled "The Conversion of Sam."

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

8. Discuss the purpose behind Hurston's use of a frame structure to present the story entitled "Magnolia Flower."

9. Describe the way in which the definition of courage is called into question within the story "Spunk."

10. What contrast between the white culture and the black culture does Hurston highlight within the opening of "Black Death"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the role of family within the text Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick. What types of family relationships are represented and how does Hurston use their variety to inform many of the stories’ themes?

Essay Topic 2

Choose an object from Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick, such as the gold watch charm, the tablecloth, or some other symbolic object and discuss its overall meaning and its connection to themes within the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining how the text portrays the American Dream. Is there one American Dream or are there many different ones, according to Hurston? What is the text saying about the American dream in the early twentieth century?

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