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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 poem of Hughes won first prize in Witter Bynner's Intercollegiate Undergraduate Poetry Contest in 1926?

2. Who sang at A'Lelia Walker's funeral?

3. How did Hughes learn to wait tables and serve drinks?

4. What did Hughes by in a shop on Poydras Street that found him on his way to Havana the next day?

5. What nightclub was making a lot of money while the Grand Duc was not?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was "Shuffle Along" and why was it important in the history of the Black Renaissance in Harlem of the 1920s? Who were some of the important blacks associated with music in the 1920s in Harlem.

2. What was hazing at Lincoln University? What kinds of things did hazing involve? What was Hughes's initiation ritual for his fraternity?

3. While he was still in college, how did Hughes meet the woman who was to become his patron? What story did Hughes tell about their first meeting?

4. What did Florence do after the brawl at the Grand Duc? How did this affect the club and what did the owner finally do?

5. Who was Bruce? Why did he become upset at work? What happened when the boss fired him? How did this affect Hughes?

6. What club did white people come into Harlem to drink and listen to music? Why did Hughes not go to this club? How did most Harlem blacks feel about this club?

7. How did Hughes's patron feel about black in America? How did this manifest itself in her relationship with Hughes?

8. What poem did Hughes submit in Witter Bynner's Intercollegiate Undergraduate Poetry Contest? How did the poem fare?

9. What other meeting did Dr. Locke arrange for Hughes before leaving town?

10. Where was the Interracial Conference Hughes attended during his sophomore year located? What story did Hughes tell about this conference?

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

Hughes titled one of the chapters in his autobiography "Distinguished Visitor." This visitor brought with him the beginnings of major fame for Hughes. Discuss the visitor and what he had to offer Hughes. Who did he introduce Hughes to that influenced his career? Why was this visitor important throughout Hughes's career?

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.

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