View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do the children do one by one?
(a) They approach the altar.
(b) They read a passage from the Bible.
(c) They sing a solo.
(d) They thank their families and friends for their support.

2. Why is Lincoln known as the "black Princeton?"
(a) Many of the white faculty had gone to Princeton.
(b) Many of the black faculty had gone to Princeton.
(c) The courses are similar to those at Princeton.
(d) Many of the black students would later attend graduate school at Princeton.

3. After another separation with his stepfather, what does Hughes' mother do?
(a) She moves to New York.
(b) She moves to Alabama.
(c) She moves to Washington.
(d) She moves to Chicago.

4. Who is Hughes' only friend in Africa?
(a) A sixteen-year-old mulatto boy.
(b) An old African man.
(c) An eighteen-year-old white woman.
(d) A twenty-year-old sailor.

5. Does Langston finish college at Columbia?
(a) No, because he transfers to NYU.
(b) Yes.
(c) No, but he attends graduate school there.
(d) No.

6. How old is Langston Hughes when his grandmother dies?
(a) Fifteen.
(b) Twelve.
(c) Ten.
(d) Twenty.

7. What would Langston rather read?
(a) Historical fiction.
(b) Science fiction.
(c) Fiction.
(d) Non-fiction.

8. What is Hughes' job aboard the S.S. West Hesseltine?
(a) To steer the ship.
(b) To watch over the petty officers' mess and make up their staterooms.
(c) To swab the deck.
(d) To cook for the officers.

9. What does Langston learn about his father?
(a) He is a stern, quiet man.
(b) He is a caring, loving man.
(c) He is an artistic, intelligent man.
(d) He is a cold man, who only cares about making money.

10. Who introduces Langston to the poetry of Carl Sandburg?
(a) Miss Emily Mills.
(b) Miss Ellen Conn.
(c) Miss Ethel Weimer.
(d) Miss Emilia Hartkopf.

11. What does Langston learn at this community center?
(a) Painting and ceramics.
(b) Acting.
(c) Drawing and painting.
(d) Singing and dancing.

12. Who does Langston tell that his sickness derives from a hatred of his father?
(a) His mother.
(b) Nobody.
(c) The doctor.
(d) His best friend.

13. Who does Langston take with him when he meets the editors of The Crisis?
(a) His father.
(b) His stepfather.
(c) His mother.
(d) His stepbrother.

14. At what age does Langston Hughes begin to consider himself a poet?
(a) Fourteen.
(b) Ten.
(c) Twenty.
(d) Five.

15. When is Langston reunited with his father for a short while?
(a) He visits his father in Mexico for a summer.
(b) His mother and he move to Mexico City.
(c) His family moves to New York.
(d) His father joins them in Chicago.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Mary Langston a proud woman?

2. What does Langston do when he is denied admittance because of his color?

3. What does Langston think about the box of books he has brought for this journey?

4. How does Langston's father try to convince Langston to come to Mexico for the summer?

5. Where do Langston's poems continue to appear?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 570 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample