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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. Why does Madam have a large phone bill in "Madam and the Phone Bill"?
(a) Because the rates went up and she didn't know.
(b) Because someone called her collect.
(c) Because she fell asleep while on the phone.
(d) Because the company made a mistake.

4. What does the speaker in "Life Is Fine" decide he was born for?
(a) "Singin'"
(b) "Dyin'"
(c) "Cryin'"
(d) "Livin'"

5. How many women are helping plan the parade in "Parade"?
(a) Seven.
(b) Seventeen.
(c) Five.
(d) Thirteen.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the speaker prefer older women in "Preference"?

2. What kind of diploma does the character in "Graduation" get?

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

4. What four things does the speaker in "Necessity" say he must do (in the beginning of the poem)?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the speaker compare his relationship with the South and the North in "The South"?

2. What historical figure might Madam Alberta K. Johnson be based upon?

3. What is the commonality between all of the poems in "Lament Over Love"?

4. What is the common tone of the pieces in "Life Is Fine"?

5. What comparison is made in "Me and the Mule"?

6. What problem does the U.S. Census worker have with Madam in "Madam and the Census Man"?

7. Why do some of the women in the "Lament Over Love" section claim to still participate in bad relationships with men?

8. What does the stereotype of the poem "Uncle Tom" tap into?

9. Which famous line of Langston Hughes is in "Harlem"?

10. What is the speaker talking about in "Note on Commercial Theater"?

(see the answer keys)

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