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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Baldwin, what feeling did the American Negro and the French Negro share?

2. Baldwin believed that the American Negro in Paris in the 1940s and 50s was forced to exercise what practice?

3. What issue is the American constantly confronted with in Paris?

4. What does Baldwin assume is the main religion of the Swiss village?

5. What action performed by the prison guards did Baldwin think demoralized him as a human being?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Based on Baldwin's essays Carmen Jones: The Dark is Light Enough and The Harlem Ghetto, what role did media (i.e. newspapers, magazines, and film) have on the life of the Negro in the 1940s and 1950s? Please use examples from the book to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

In the essay Notes of a Native Son, Baldwin uses his personal experience to describe his life as a native son. How does Baldwin's personal account as a Native Son compare to his summary and criticism of the book Native Son in the essay Many Thousands Gone? Does his account address the issues he had with the original story? Please use examples from the book to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Baldwin writes the essays in the book Notes of a Native Son using more of a conventional style rather than an academic style. Analyze Baldwin's conventional approach to writing. How does Baldwin's conventional approach to writing enhance the book Notes of a Native Son? Please use examples from the book to support your answer.

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