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. Of the letter recipient's father, the author says in "My Dungeon Shook," "Let him laugh and I see" what?

2. What does the word "unassailable" mean in "My Dungeon Shook"?

3. The author claims in "My Dungeon Shook" that "the danger, in the minds of most white Americans, is" what?

4. The author says in "My Dungeon Shook," "We have not stopped trembling yet, but if we had not loved each other none of us would have" what?

5. The author indicates in "My Dungeon Shook" that "people find it very difficult to act on" what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. How does the author describe the temperament and attitudes of the letter recipient in "My Dungeon Shook"?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the parallels that the author draws between the Holocaust and the oppression of African Americans. How does the author indicate that World War II changed perceptions within the black community of white society? What did the fact of the Holocaust prove to the author?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the author's encounter with the driver after leaving Elijah Muhammad's home in "Down at the Cross." What did the two discuss? What conclusions did they reach in their discussion? How did the author feel about this exchange?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 942 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample