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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 was unusual to Hughes about the Hamilton Club Lodge Ball at Rockland Plaza Casino?

2. What did Hughes find true about Lincoln University that was also true about American life?

3. Where did Zora Neale Hurston attend college?

4. Why did the manager of the Grand Duc decide to fire Bruce, the chef?

5. Why did Hughes disembark from the boat trip up the Saguenay River to see the northern lights?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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. When an alum of the college met Hughes, how did he react to Hughes's survey concerning having black faculty at Lincoln?

5. What happened to Hughes on his was back to France that changed his travel plans?

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

7. What was the "Messenger"? Who ran it? Why was the editor and the "Messenger" important to Hughes?

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

9. 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.

10. How did Hughes describe the wedding of Countee Cullen? Why was the wedding the talk of Harlem for a time? How was Hughes involved?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Hughes met many people in New York society when Harlem was in its heyday. Who was Carl Van Vechten? How did Hughes know him? What was unique about the man and his parties? What career-damaging thing happened to both men nearly simultaneously?

Essay Topic 3

When Hughes boarded the S.S. Malone, he brought a box with him on the ship. One night shortly after the ship embarked on its journey to Africa, Hughes dumped the contents of his box into the ocean. This was an important event in Hughes' life. What was in the box that was thrown overboard, and why did Hughes toss everything into the ocean? What did he hope to change in his life by this symbolic act?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,474 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample