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. Who was Florence?

2. What was the general atmosphere on the S.S. Malone during its journey on the coast of Africa?

3. About what incident did Hughes write the poem "African Fog?"

4. What neighborhood in Paris did Hughes walk through to look for a job and a place to live?

5. How did Hughes obtain a sleeping car in San Antonio on his way to Cleveland?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Hughes's childhood. With whom did he live? How did he begin to be a reader? Where did he attend school?

2. What were the contents of the one box Hughes brought with him on the ship? What was he thinking about as he threw the contents of the box off of the S.S. Malone into the ocean?

3. What kinds of things happened on board Hughes's ship from New York to Rotterdam? How were they different than the typical passage aboard the S.S. Malone?

4. Who was Florence Embry Jones? Who were some of the musicians Hughes heard because of Florence?

5. How did Hughes convince his father to allow him to attend Columbia University in New York? When did Hughes leave Mexico for college?

6. How did Hughes go about earning money in Mexico? What were his plans for the money he earned there?

7. After leaving college, what jobs did Hughes try to get? What job did he end up getting?

8. What were some of the sights and sounds Hughes witnessed upon entering New York waters? How did he react to them?

9. How did Hughes react to being thought of as Mexican on his way home from Mexico? How did he use this misidentity to his advantage?

10. What did Hughes notice about the way Mexicans and Negros were treated differently, particularly on his way home from Mexico to Cleveland, Ohio?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hughes met many people in New York society when Harlem was in its heyday. Who was Carl Van Vechten? How did Hughes know him? What was unique about the man and his parties? What career-damaging thing happened to both men nearly simultaneously?

Essay Topic 2

One of the issues Hughes raised again and again in his book was that of race. He often remarked on the color of his skin, whether he was a "black man" in one country and not in another. What are some of the major threads of the theme of race that run through Hughes's book? Why are they an important part of Hughes's autobiography?

Essay Topic 3

Hughes remained in Mexico for a year while earning the money to leave the country. What had transpired between Hughes and his father that set Hughes on a plan to leave Mexico? What was Hughes's goal while he was there, and how did he go about reaching that goal? Discuss how this plan affected Hughes's life as a man.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,392 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample