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

2. What must one become "concerning destruction and death," according to the author in "My Dungeon Shook"?

3. What U.S. President issued the Emancipation Proclamation?

4. The author claims in "My Dungeon Shook," "Any upheaval in the universe is terrifying because it so profoundly attacks one’s sense of" what?

5. The author claims in his conclusion of "My Dungeon Shook" that the country is celebrating one hundred years of freedom when?

Short Essay Questions

1. How has the black man functioned in the white man's world, according to Baldwin in "My Dungeon Shook"?

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

3. What does Baldwin claim to be "the root of my dispute with my country" in "My Dungeon Shook"?

4. What does the author write about the words "acceptance" and "integration" in "My Dungeon Shook"?

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

6. What does the word "Negro" mean, and how is it applied in The Fire Next Time?

7. How does the author describe aspirations toward excellence or mediocrity in "My Dungeon Shook"?

8. What does the author remark about love and survival in "My Dungeon Shook"?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the author's descriptions of his mother and other female African Americans in The Fire Next Time. How are these depictions juxtaposed against the depictions of males in African American society? What is the basis of these differences in character?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss Elijah Muhammad and his characterization in "Down at the Cross." When did Elijah Muhammad take over the leadership of the Nation Of Islam? How does the author describe his home and his experiences at dinner with Elijah Muhammad? How does the author compare Elijah Muhammad with his father?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the Emancipation Proclamation and the author's references to it in "My Dungeon Shook." When was the Emancipation Proclamation enacted? Who enacted it? What did it guarantee? How does the author refer to it in his essay?

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