View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. To whom does the narrator claim to have developed a “sympathetic bond” with at school in Chapter 2?

2. The narrator says that when he was shown about the grounds of the university, he was especially interested in what building in Chapter 4?

3. How much do the narrator and his companion each pay the waiter at the restaurant where they eat in Chapter 4?

4. What does the tall man with the small, dark moustache drill a hole through in Chapter 1 as the narrator watches?

5. What does the narrator describe growing along the edge of the fence by the vegetable garden in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the second Pullman car porter described by the narrator in Chapter 4?

2. How is the first Pullman car porter described by the narrator? Where does the narrator meet him?

3. What popular dance does the narrator describe in Chapter 5? When did the dance develop?

4. Where did James Weldon Johnson attend university? How is this institution described?

5. Who is the narrator of The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man? What secret does he discuss in Chapter 1?

6. When and where was the author of the book born and raised? How are his parents described?

7. How is the early childhood of the narrator described in Chapter 1? Where does he live?

8. Who is the narrator’s guide when he first arrives in Atlanta in Chapter 4? What are the narrator’s impressions of the city?

9. Where does the narrator begin working in Jacksonville in Chapter 5?

10. What event takes place informing the narrator of his ethnic heritage in his early years? How does he react to the information?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define and identify motif in literature, and the motifs in the narrative. How does violence apply to the novel as a motif? In what ways does the narrator associate violence with the African American community? How does this differ from the white community?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the setting of Atlanta, Georgia, and the narrator’s impressions of the city upon arrival. How does the city compare with the narrator’s childhood home in Connecticut? How does he perceive the African Americans of the South to be different than those of the North? Where does the narrator stay upon his arrival?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era of the United States, and the settings of Georgia and Connecticut during this time period. Where in Georgia does the narrator live with his mother? How does he describe his home and the people in his childhood community? What details does he describe of his father?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 911 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample