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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 in "Cross" wish in regard to his mother?
(a) He wishes her well.
(b) He wishes she would just die so she doesn't have to suffer anymore.
(c) He wishes she finds happiness one day.
(d) He wishes she would just die so he can get his inheritance.

2. What does the speaker in "Little Old Letter" claim pen and paper have the power to do?
(a) Seal a deal.
(b) Guarantee your rights.
(c) Burn up and turn meaningless.
(d) Take a person's life.

3. What place is the speaker trying to avoid in "One-Way Ticket"?
(a) His mother's house.
(b) The South.
(c) The police station.
(d) His girlfriend's house.

4. Where is Miss Michaelmas in "Southern Mammy Sings"?
(a) At a funeral.
(b) In her yard.
(c) At mass.
(d) In her garden.

5. What does the Gypsy need in her hand in "Ballad of the Gypsy" before she reads the speaker's fortune?
(a) Wine.
(b) Gold.
(c) Bread.
(d) Silver.

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

7. 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.

8. What is the name of the character in "Graduation"?
(a) Mary Beth Wilson.
(b) Jackson Barton.
(c) Jackson Bartlet.
(d) Mary Lulu Jackson.

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

10. What does the speaker in "Mother to Son" claim her life has NOT been?
(a) "No easy train to ride."
(b) "No happy path."
(c) "No happy tune."
(d) "No crystal stair."

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

12. Why does the speaker prefer older women in "Preference"?
(a) Because they don't get mad so easily.
(b) Because they have more money since they're older.
(c) Because they take care of him better.
(d) Because they don't get mad if he cheats.

13. How does the speaker attempt suicide the second time in "Life Is Fine"?
(a) By jumping into a river.
(b) By jumping off of a building.
(c) By jumping in front of a train.
(d) By jumping off of a cliff.

14. What does the speaker pick up and take away in "One-Way Ticket"?
(a) His wallet.
(b) His sins.
(c) His life.
(d) His Bible.

15. What four things does the speaker in "Necessity" say he must do (in the beginning of the poem)?
(a) Mow the lawn, get the mail, fix the porch, and pain the house.
(b) Wake up, shower, get dressed, and go to work.
(c) Come home, drink, eat, and go to sleep.
(d) Eat, drink, stay black, and die.

Short Answer Questions

1. What caused Madam to abandon her barbecue stand?

2. What is the little boy dreaming of in "To Be Somebody"?

3. What does the speaker in "Down and Out" want from her lover?

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

5. Where are people meeting to plan the parade in "Parade"?

(see the answer keys)

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