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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. With what triumphant phrase does the speaker conclude "Still Here"?

2. How does the speaker first attempt suicide in "Life Is Fine"?

3. Why does Madam have a large phone bill in "Madam and the Phone Bill"?

4. What two things does Kid Sleep say he doesn't care about/doesn't want to do in "Kid Sleepy"?

5. What does the speaker compare love to in "Lament over Love"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What major themes are present in the poems included in "Montage of a Dream Deferred"?

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

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

4. What do both "Still Here" and "Me and the Mule" celebrate?

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

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

7. What observation does the speaker make about the people riding the subway in "Subway Rush Hour"?

8. Why does the speaker in "Third Degree" confess to police?

9. What are three sub-themes that appear in "Note on Commercial Theater"?

10. How do the poems in "Life Is Fine" treat life's trials and tribulations?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Select one poem from "Selected Poems of Langston Hughes" and discuss 1) why Hughes gave it the title he did and 2) what Hughes wants to convey through the title of that poem.

Essay Topic 2

"Ennui" is an incredibly short but very powerful poem. Analyze Hughes's choice in diction for the poem and why he chose the words he did in a poem of such brevity. (Make sure to also address the title as one of Hughes's word choices.)

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast 2 poems in "Magnolia Flowers" and at least 3 rhetorical devices each uses to address life in the American South.

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