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. What caused the author's father's defeat in "My Dungeon Shook"?

2. About how many years ago does the author describe the letter recipient being born in "My Dungeon Shook"?

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

4. The author describes the recipient's face as being the same face of whom in "My Dungeon Shook"?

5. The author says of one of his ancestors in "My Dungeon Shook," "One of them said, the very time I thought I was lost, my dungeon shook and" what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author rally his nephew in the conclusion of "My Dungeon Shook"?

2. How does the author describe his mother in "My Dungeon Shook"?

3. Why does James Baldwin claim to have re-started his letter numerous times in "My Dungeon Shook"?

4. Who is Charles Dickens and why does the author cite him in "My Dungeon Shook"?

5. How does James Baldwin describe his father's defeat in "My Dungeon Shook"?

6. How does the author impress the importance of history on his nephew in "My Dungeon Shook"?

7. What does the author claim to be the only way you can be destroyed in "My Dungeon Shook"?

8. How does the author describe his relationship with his brother in "My Dungeon Shook"?

9. What paradox does the author describe in "My Dungeon Shook"?

10. Who is E. Franklin Frazier and why does the author cite him in "My Dungeon Shook"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the concepts of "segregation," "integration," and "acceptance" in The Fire Next Time. How does the author define these terms in his essays? What is the importance of integration and acceptance moving forward in striving for equality?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the author's literary allusions in The Fire Next Time. What poets and authors does Baldwin cite in the essays? What is the significance of his choices on these authors? How do the works of these authors and poets relate thematically to The Fire Next Time?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of anger in The Fire Next Time. How is the author's own anger revealed in the essays? What does the author remark about the anger of others? How does the author perceive his own anger?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 957 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample