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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. Baldwin believes that the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin should have been:
(a) A Short Story.
(b) A Novel.
(c) A Pamphlet.
(d) A Play.

2. Where can the true raison d'être of the Negro press be found?
(a) Lifestyle sections of the Black magazines.
(b) The front pages of the Negro newspapers.
(c) Letters to the editor.
(d) Ebony magazine.

3. Why does Baldwin criticize the cleanliness of the Carmen Jones movie set?
(a) Because it does not accurately portray the American ghetto.
(b) Because they do not show the intermingling of working class Negroes and Whites.
(c) Because they do not accurately portray the working-class.
(d) Because they do not accurately portray the environments of the working class Negroes characterized in the movie.

4. Why does Baldwin insist that the operatic songs performed by the cast in the film Carmen Jones have no connection to Negro life?
(a) The music pieces were sung in Italian and dubbed over the black actor's lip syncs.
(b) The music pieces were sung by middle class black people and dubbed over the black actor's lip syncs.
(c) The music pieces were sung by white men and dubbed over the black actor's lip syncs.
(d) The music pieces were sung by white people and dubbed over the black actor's lip syncs.

5. What stereotypical trait do the immoral and evil characters share in the film Carmen Jones?
(a) Brown eyes.
(b) Overweight.
(c) Coarse hair.
(d) Dark colored skin.

Short Answer Questions

1. What genre of film is the movie Carmen Jones?

2. What point of view does Baldwin use in this essay?

3. What did the parents of the Melodeers oppose prior to their departure for Atlanta?

4. How are the oppressed and oppressor described in the book, Notes of a Native Son?

5. Although it is known that African Americans are not biologically or mentally inferior, what occurred during the World War II?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think Baldwin distrusts his father's warnings about the weight of white people in the world?

2. Why does Baldwin use the theme of racial prejudice to set the topic and tone for Notes of a Native Son?

3. How does Baldwin use Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin?

4. Describe the appearance and the role of Mrs. Branson Price.

5. Describe Baldwin's tone in Everybody's Protest Novel.

6. What is the significance of having both the lead characters in the film Carmen Jones cast by light-complected Negroes?

7. Why is Baldwin living a bleak life in Paris before he befriends a man from New York?

8. What is the main difference between the American Negro and the French Negro?

9. Why has Baldwin written extensively about the Negro press?

10. Why does Baldwin criticize Richard Wright's book, Native Son?

(see the answer keys)

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