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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does the speaker say Harlem is in "Puzzled"?
(a) At the edge of America.
(b) In every man's heart.
(c) On the edge of hell.
(d) In the note of every Blues' song.

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

3. Where are people meeting to plan the parade in "Parade"?
(a) At the minister's house.
(b) The Elks Club Lodge.
(c) Church.
(d) The mall; they have meeting rooms there.

4. Where does the fortune teller tell Madam her fortune is in "Madam and the Fortune Teller"?
(a) With her boyfriend.
(b) In Atlanta.
(c) Inside herself.
(d) In Vegas.

5. 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.

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

7. What does the speaker claim he, too, would do if he were a Gypsy?
(a) Steal people's money.
(b) Be psychic.
(c) Travel the world.
(d) Wear beautiful, handmade clothes.

8. What sound does the speaker claim a dream deferred makes in "Dream Boogie"?
(a) A boogie-woogie rumble.
(b) A soft whisper in the night.
(c) A howling at the moon inside one's soul.
(d) A quiet whimper in the dark.

9. 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 beauty shop and the nail salon.
(d) The post office and the grocery store.

10. What children's rhyme does the speaker mention in "Children's Rhymes"?
(a) One, two, buckle my shoe.
(b) Mary had a little lamb.
(c) Jack and Jill went up the hill.
(d) The itsy-bitsy spider.

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

12. What is the one thing the fortune teller in "Ballad of the Fortune Teller" couldn't see?
(a) When she was going to die.
(b) Where her lover went.
(c) That her business was going to go bankrupt.
(d) That she was going to be robbed.

13. What is the speaker tired of in "One-Way Ticket"?
(a) Lynching.
(b) Jim Crow laws.
(c) People who are afraid of him.
(d) All of these answers are correct.

14. What does the speaker claim is such a bore in "Ennui"?
(a) Being poor.
(b) Stores.
(c) Snores.
(d) Chores.

15. What does the speaker wish the rent were in "Little Lyric (Of Great Importance)"?
(a) Cheaper.
(b) On time, for once.
(c) Heaven sent.
(d) Tax deductible.

Short Answer Questions

1. What question does the Klan ask the speaker in "Ku Klux"?

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

3. How does the speaker attempt suicide the second time in "Life Is Fine"?

4. What place is the speaker trying to avoid in "One-Way Ticket"?

5. What is the name of the man in "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?

(see the answer keys)

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