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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the speaker claim the wine-maiden's lips are as sweet as in "Midnight Dancer"?
(a) Molasses.
(b) Purple dew.
(c) Honey.
(d) Sugar.

2. What job does Ruby Brown have when the poem of her same name starts?
(a) Working in the fields.
(b) Working in a white woman's kitchen.
(c) Working at a hospital.
(d) Working in a library.

3. What would the speaker in "Young Gal's Blues" rather be dead than?
(a) Poor and stupid.
(b) Ugly and old.
(c) Old and stupid.
(d) Ugly and poor.

4. What does Madam say she'd do before she pays the rent to her landlord in "Madam and the Rent Man"?
(a) Cook a nice dinner.
(b) Go to the bank.
(c) Go to Hades.
(d) Scrub all the floors in the house.

5. What is the little boy dreaming of in "To Be Somebody"?
(a) Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves.
(b) Mike Tyson's boxing gloves.
(c) Joe Louis's boxing gloves.
(d) George Foreman's boxing gloves.

6. In "Little Old Letter," the speaker claims never to have been so lonely since when?
(a) Since she found out she was adopted.
(b) Since she first moved out on her own.
(c) Since she was first left with a babysitter.
(d) Since she was born black.

7. Why is the boy lynched in "Southern Mammy Sings"?
(a) Because he lied to his boss.
(b) Because he tried to run away.
(c) Because he said all people should be free.
(d) Because he stole something.

8. What caused Madam to abandon her barbecue stand?
(a) Being mixed up with a no-good man.
(b) Bankruptcy.
(c) She just got bored and tired with it.
(d) A fire from her huge barbecue pit.

9. What is Madam's full name?
(a) Madam Sophia Sandra Jackson.
(b) Miss Julianna Iasha Elliot.
(c) Madam Alberta K. Johnson.
(d) This is a trick question; she only goes by Madam.

10. What is being cooked for dinner in "Graduation"?
(a) Pot roast.
(b) Greens.
(c) Chicken.
(d) Brisket.

11. What does the speaker claim "Madam" stands for in "Madam's Past History"?
(a) Business.
(b) Professor.
(c) Doctor.
(d) Mother.

12. What does the speaker hope for her child in the poem "Lament over Love"?
(a) That he or she will not grow up to be poor.
(b) The he or she will never love a man.
(c) That he or she will stop being so bratty all the time.
(d) That he or she will go to college.

13. What does Ruby Brown do for a living by the time the poem of her same name concludes?
(a) She is a teacher.
(b) She is a doctor.
(c) She quits her job but doesn't have a new one yet.
(d) She is a prostitute.

14. What does the speaker wonder about his own death in "Cross"?
(a) Who will get his inheritance.
(b) Who will mourn for him.
(c) If anyone will even notice.
(d) Where he will die.

15. What 2 places does the speaker go to in "Young Gal's Blues"?
(a) The graveyard and the poor house.
(b) The doctor's office and the hospital.
(c) The post office and the grocery store.
(d) The beauty shop and the nail salon.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the speaker wish the rent were in "Little Lyric (Of Great Importance)"?

2. What is the speaker tired of in "One-Way Ticket"?

3. What does the speaker in "Life Is Fine" decide he was born for?

4. What does the little boy use as a toy in "Madam and the Charity Child"?

5. What does the speaker say life is as fine as in "Life Is Fine"?

(see the answer keys)

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