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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. How old was the author when two police officers amused themselves with frisking him, according to the story in "Down at the Cross"?
2. About how old does the author describe the female pastor as being when he met her in "Down at the Cross"?
3. Where does the author claim he was when a bartender refused to serve him and some friends in "Down at the Cross"?
4. 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?
5. How old was the author when he describes an encounter where a policeman made a racial slur as he passed in Manhattan in "Down at the Cross"?
Short Essay Questions
1. How would you describe the author's sense of anger in the beginning of "Down at the Cross"?
2. What causes the author irritation during his dinner at Elijah Muhammad's home?
3. What is noteworthy about the quotes that open "Down at the Cross"?
4. What parallels does the author draw between Christianity and Islam in "Down at the Cross"?
5. How would you describe the central subject and structure of the first part of "Down at the Cross"?
6. How does the author describe the racial perspectives in the Nation of Islam's belief system?
7. What does the author point out as the failings of Christianity and Islam in "Down at the Cross"?
8. How would you describe the tone in the second section of "Down at the Cross"? How has the author's perspective changed?
9. What elements of foreshadowing can be seen in the first part of "Down at the Cross"?
10. What hypocrisies in Christianity and the Nation of Islam does Baldwin point out in "Down at the Cross"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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 2
Describe the life and career of author James Baldwin. What role did Baldwin play in the Civil Rights Movement? What are the major themes and subjects of Baldwin's essays, plays, and novels? Where did Baldwin live for most of his life?
Essay Topic 3
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?
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This section contains 1,053 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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