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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. What are "flutter bys"?

2. What does Mark C. Ford ask Hurston about a dolphin's tail?

3. What is Dr. Samuel Jenkins' clientele like?

4. What did God do with the tool to create the earth?

5. What do people make drinks out of at the joint?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Eve of St. John's in Chapter 2?

2. Describe Hurston's final story in Chapter 7 about the rat and the cat.

3. What happens at the juke joint in Chapter 9? How is Big Sweet involved?

4. How does Luke Turner learn about his Hoodoo power?

5. What happens to the snail that is ill in Chapter 8?

6. In Chapter 7, does there appear to be an order to the stories Hurston tells? If so, what is the order? If not, why is there no order?

7. Explain what it means if it rains at a funeral?

8. How does Hurston describe the creation of the world in Chapter 1?

9. Where does the slave get the name Big Sixteen from? What does he appear as today?

10. What is ironic about the story where a slave is afraid to shoot his master's gun uphill?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Marie Leveau's impact on Hoodoo. Why do practitioners of Hoodoo claim her as an inspiration?

Essay Topic 2

How does Hurston's life provide the inspiration for writing "Mules and Men"? Provide examples from Hurston's life that lead to her passion for researching folklore and Hoodoo. How does this topic bring her closer to her culture?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the interaction between the community during storytelling. What role does storytelling play in the community? What does Hurston learn during these gatherings?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 738 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample