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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 the name of the ship Hughes found in New Orleans traveling to Havana?

2. How did Hughes describe the cockroaches in New Orleans?

3. What happened to Hughes to make it possible for him to write "Not Without Laughter?"

4. Who wrote the play "The Mule Bone?"

5. Where did Hughes stay when he was in New Orleans on his trip in 1927?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Hughes's distinguished visitor? Why was the visit an important one?

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

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

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

5. What survey did Hughes conduct at his college during his senior year? Why was this issue important to Hughes?

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

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

8. How did Hughes compare Bricktop Ada Smith and Florence? How were the two women different?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What was "The Weary Blues"? Discuss how Hughes came to write it, how it was received, and from where it got its title.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Hughes met a child, Edward, while in an African port. Hughes said his meetings with Edward inspired his best short story "African Morning." What was Edward's story? Why did Hughes find Edward's situation especially painful? Why did his encounter with Edward inspire a story?

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This section contains 1,364 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample