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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. For what is Bobby finally thrown out of his university?

2. What happens to Oscar while in Reformatory?

3. How is Sweet Jones' motivation for pimping described?

4. What does Blood do first upon waking up in Chapter 7?

5. What physical surprise does Blood discover about Melody?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Bobby "torn from the nest"?

2. Describe the con that Party Time and Bobby work on white men.

3. How is Pretty Preston used as a foil for Sweet Jones?

4. At the end of Chapter 5, when Blood beats Runt for the first time, he begins to have flashbacks to his childhood and Mama. What insight do these flashbacks provide to Blood's life and personality?

5. How does Party Time protect Bobby in Chapter 2, and why?

6. At the end of Chapter 4, Runt and Blood leave Milwaukee and go to Chicago to begin their new lives as pimp and prostitute together. Before he leaves though, Blood goes by Mama's house to tell her where he's going. How does this reflect his ambivalence towards his mother?

7. Thinking about the content and purpose of Chapter 5 in the story, what does the title "The Jungle Fauna" mean? What or where is the Jungle? What or who is the fauna? (When thinking about the Jungle, remember the title of Chapter 2, "First Steps into the Jungle.")

8. Many characters come and go in the story without being given names, even if they play a reasonably memorable role for the author (like the banker with the big tip in Chapter 1). However, in Chapter 9, Silas plays a singularly minor role and yet is given a name and place in the story. What significance could be attributed to this?

9. Bobby accepts the invitation to attend Tuskegee University initially and only leaves when kicked out for bad behavior. How is Bobby's decision to attend college indicative of his frame of mind at this age?

10. Does it seem somewhat perverse that Blood whips Runt with a wire and then gets depressed when she leaves and doesn't come back by her usual time in Chapter 11? What does this say about the nature of an abusive relationship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tuskegee University has an opportunity to turn Bobby Beck into a Harlem Renaissance man, a black man full of creative power and prolific ability. Instead, they turn him out of the school after Bobby cannot be convinced to obey the rules. Is the University "cutting off its nose to spite its face" with this rejection of talent and genius? Should the school take on the responsibility of preventing an obviously troubled youth from becoming another crime statistic, particularly in an era when opportunities for black men were so few and far between and the need for powerful black intellectuals was so critical in the social equality movement? Conversely, is it the school's responsibility to babysit ungrateful children who cannot simply comply with reasonable standards for straight living and personal achievement?

Essay Topic 2

Opinion: Like many of the Harlem Renaissance writers of youth, Iceberg Slim resorts to street vernacular and slang not just for the character dialogue in his book, but for his own first person account. In your opinion what contribution does this make to the book? Does it emphasize the gritty reality of the book? Does it make Slim just sound illiterate? Does it make the book easy or difficult to read? Does it contribute to the atmosphere of the book? Does it seem necessary?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 21, it is the news of Party Time's demise that finally provides the impetus for Slim to pull his life together and vow to quit drugs and pimping forever. What about this loss of his first street buddy, his first con partner, causes Slim to question every life decision he has made?

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