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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 kind of people does DuBois say the sorrow songs come from?

2. What is the dominant crop in the land DuBois describes?

3. What is the avenue for escape from the grind of debt, according to DuBois?

4. How many churches are there for every black family in America, according to DuBois?

5. How does DuBois characterize John Jones?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does DuBois characterize the Frenzy the Southern Negro revival meeting?

2. How does DuBois characterize the double system of justice in the South?

3. What is the reason for this tragic anecdote, as the penultimate chapter, coming on the heels of the previous, more triumphant chapter, as it does?

4. How does John Jones change on account of his semester away from school?

5. How does DuBois describe the one-room cabin most blacks live in, in Dougherty county?

6. How are the physical dwellings of blacks and whites related, in DuBois' account?

7. What is DuBois’ relation to death, in Chapter 11?

8. How does DuBois characterize the Music in the Southern Negro revival meeting?

9. What factors does DuBois say have led to crime among blacks?

10. How did Alexander Crummell overcome the temptation of Despair?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Outrage over slavery is almost inescapable, but DuBois largely avoids it. Still, he has to include it in some way. Using examples from the text, describe how DuBois both includes and proposes to reconcile the powerful feelings that are associated with the history of black exploitation in the South.

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of the Sorrow Songs in DuBois’ vision of how American culture could evolve over time? Using examples from the text, particularly from the last chapter, assess the importance of the sorrow song in either removing the Veil or making it bearable.

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate your own reading of The Souls of Black Folk—did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

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This section contains 928 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample