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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. The narrator states in Chapter 5, “I am sure it would be safe to wager that no group of Southern white men could get together and talk for sixty minutes without bringing up” what?

2. The narrator claims in Chapter 1, “As I look back now I can see that I was a perfect little” what?

3. In Chapter 5, the narrator compares the black man and his fight to what bearing the “fury of the storm”?

4. The landlord of the boarding house in Chapter 5 makes approximately how many cigars per day?

5. What is the Pullman car porter wearing when the narrator encounters him at a ball in Chapter 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the theme of identity apply to the novel? How does it apply to the narrator?

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

3. In what ways does the narrator show blindness and naiveté regarding his race?

4. How is segregation addressed when the narrator eats his first meal in Atlanta in Chapter 4?

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

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

7. What elements does the novel share with the Realist Movement in literary style?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the popular dance called the cake-walk. When did this dance originate? How did it evolve over time? What does the narrator say in praise of the dance in Chapter 5?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the narrator’s perception of personal identity when he arrives in Florida. How is his perception of the African Americans here different than in Georgia and in Connecticut? In what ways does the narrator incorporate himself into Spanish-speaking society in the South? How is he perceived by this ethnic minority?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of the narrator’s mother and her relationship with the narrator in his youth. Why does the narrator’s mother not inform him of his heritage before he discovers the truth at school? How do the other students react to the narrator’s misunderstanding with the principal? How does the narrator’s discovery of his black heritage influence his personal view of himself and of the others around him?

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