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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. How did Hughes meet Bricktop Ada Smith?

2. Why did Hughes decide to move from his apartment to an attic room up the hill?

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

4. Why did Hughes move to Washington D.C.?

5. Once, on his way to the train accompanied by a chauffeur and a secretary, who did Hughes meet at the station?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were some of the places in Italy Hughes saw aboard the ship headed for New York? What happened to him in Valencia?

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

3. What was "Not Without Laughter"? Why was it important in Hughes's life?

4. What happened to Hughes when his patron broke off their relationship?

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

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

7. Who was Gladys Bentley? How did Hughes describe her?

8. Where did Hughes attend college during the 1920s? When was the college founded and by whom? Where is the college located?

9. What benefit cabaret was hosted by the NAACP to which Hughes was invited? Who did he meet there? Who was singing at the club when he entered?

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

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 described in detail a brawl in the Grand Duc involving a woman named Annette. There was a distinct theme and message Hughes was making in his retelling of the story. Discuss the brawl, what it was about, and what it stood for in Hughes's life. Why do you think Hughes did not jump into the brawl to fight?

(see the answer keys)

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