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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. What rivers were on Hughes's mind when he wrote his famous poem on the way to Mexico?

2. What did Hughes consider the "greatest Negro city in the world?"

3. What did Hughes's mother do after he left home to return to New York?

4. What did one sailor pass off as French francs in one small French colony African town?

5. What did "Negro" mean in the United States?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Hughes throw all of his books overboard while traveling to Africa? What did this act symbolize?

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

3. What happened to Hughes when he, his mother, and his grandmother went to Mexico? Why did they go there, and when did they return?

4. How did Hughes react to being in college at Columbia University? What were the problems he identified?

5. What was Hughes's ethnic heritage? How did this affect his travels in Africa?

6. How did Hughes meet someone in Paris who helped him find a place to stay, and who was the person? What was the surprise Hughes found when he went up to his room?

7. While sailing along the African shore, what did the crew do from port to port? What did Hughes realize about the black Africans?

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

9. How long did it take Hughes to find work in Paris? What job did he finally get? What was his pay?

10. Who was Jocko? Where did he come from? Where did he live?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

While in Washington D.C., Hughes found himself face to face with Vachel Lindsay. Describe the meeting of the two men. Why was this meeting important to Hughes's career? What was the story of the "bus boy poet"? There was a particular irony of Hughes's meeting Lindsay at the Wardman Park Hotel. What was that irony?

Essay Topic 3

Hughes was asked to participate in a interracial conference at Franklin and Marshall College. He related two important stories, one about how he and Alain Locke were treated at Hill School in Pennsylvania and another about the practical and meaningful topic he suggested be discussed at the conference. Discuss these two stories and what they meant to Hughes and how they affected his life at college and after.

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