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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. Where was Hughes when he was refused service at the train station soda fountain?

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

3. Where did Hughes go to live when he was in second grade?

4. What did the sailors do on the first day out of the harbor on the way to Africa?

5. Where did Hughes meet Sonya?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who did Hughes stand in line to see at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York? What did he think of the performance?

2. 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?

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

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

5. 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?

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. How did Hughes begin writing poetry? Did he like writing poetry? What was his style of poetry?

8. Where did Hughes find a more permanent job in Paris? What were his initial job duties? What important new perk did this job offer him?

9. Who was Edward? How did Hughes meet him?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While living in Paris, Hughes met many unique people with whom he shared wonderful experiences. Who were some of those people and those experiences? What about them made them unique enough to Hughes to remember them in his autobiography? Why were they important in his life as a writer, a poet, and a person?

Essay Topic 2

When he was a child, Hughes lived with the Reeds who not only saw to his care and education but also to his religious development. One incident at church was a particularly important one for Hughes. What happened to him at the Reed's church? How did his behavior affect the Reeds? How did it affect Hughes? How did this experience change his life?

Essay Topic 3

Hughes met a child, Edward, while in an African port. Hughes said his meetings with Edward inspired his best short story "African Morning." What was Edward's story? Why did Hughes find Edward's situation especially painful? Why did his encounter with Edward inspire a story?

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