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. When did Hughes say he most felt like writing?

2. How did Hughes meet Bricktop Ada Smith?

3. What was "Shuffle Along?"

4. Who did Hughes think of during his lunch with Mr. Barnes?

5. Who was the first company to publish a book of Hughes's poetry?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What poem did Hughes submit to "Opportunity" magazine owned by the National Urban League? What was the poem about? What happened to the poem that changes Hughes's life?

6. How did Hughes conclude his story of the racial survey at Lincoln? What changes did he witness at the school and in how many years?

7. 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?

8. Who was Annette, and why was she fired from the Grand Duc? What happened on her last night at the club?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In his autobiography, Hughes only mentions two women in whom he was romantically interested: Suzanna Jones from high school and Mary in Paris. The more important relationship was with Mary. Discuss their relationship. Who was Mary, and how did they meet? Did Hughes reveal how he really felt about Mary? What happened to their love affair, and how did it affect Hughes?

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

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 1,351 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample