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 name of the dormitory at Columbia in which Hughes lived?

3. Where did the S.S. Malone finally put in?

4. What did Hughes's ship bring to Africa?

5. Where was Hughes's ship traveling to when he left America?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

4. 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?

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

6. What was the ritual on the S.S. Malone when the ship crossed the equator?

7. 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?

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

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During his time at college, Hughes was introduced to a woman, whose name he did not reveal, who would become his patron and allow him to write without fears of poverty. Discuss this woman and her relationship with Hughes. Describe her and her interest in Hughes and his writing. How did the two of them communicate with each other? How did the relationship finally end?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

There were two singers at the Grand Duc while Hughes worked there: Florence Embry Jones and Bricktop Ada Smith. Both were excellent jazz singers and two very different women. Compare the two singers, what they offered the Grand Duc, and how they affected Hughes while he worked there.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,319 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample