1. Baldwin writes in "Down at the Cross," "The price of the liberation of the white people is" what?
(a) "The segregation of the blacks."
(b) "The liberation of the blacks."
(c) "The integration of the blacks."
(d) "The enslavement of the blacks."

2. What word from "My Dungeon Shook" refers to a seemingly self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated may proved to be true?
(a) Malaprop.
(b) Paradox.
(c) Irony.
(d) Atonement.

3. What does the word "bulwark" mean in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) A defensive wall.
(b) A rope attached to a roof.
(c) A chain.
(d) A fencing sword.

4. What does the author say can be heard in the letter recipient's father's "laughter and in his speech and in his songs" in "My Dungeon Shook"?
(a) Joy.
(b) Civility.
(c) Patience.
(d) Tears.

5. In describing white liberal attitudes in "Down at the Cross," the author states that "they could deal with the Negro as a symbol or a victim but has no real sense of him as" what?
(a) "A man."
(b) "A political power."
(c) "A master."
(d) "An intellect."

Short Answer Questions

1. The author asserts in "Down at the Cross," "The real reason that nonviolence is considered to be a virtue in Negroes--I am not speaking now of its racial value, another matter altogether--is that white men do not want" what?

2. How does the author respond when asked by the female pastor, "Whose little boy are you?"

3. How does the author conclude his letter in "My Dungeon Shook"?

4. Of the letter recipient's father, the author says in "My Dungeon Shook," I hear in his present laughter" what?

5. What does the author describe school revealing itself to be to the black community passing through adolescence in "Down at the Cross"?

(see the answer key)

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