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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The poem entitled "Snail" states that the snail knows two things. What are they?
(a) Weather and roses.
(b) Sun and rain.
(c) Roses and grass.
(d) Sky and sand.

2. The poem entitled "Heaven" puts forth the proposition that heaven is the place where what emotion is "everywhere" (48)?
(a) Calm.
(b) Happiness.
(c) Satisfaction.
(d) Peace.

3. What tool does John Henry hold in his hand within the poem entitled "Love"?
(a) A scythe.
(b) An awl.
(c) A hoe.
(d) A hammer.

4. The poem entitled "Freedom's Plow" repeats several times that it is better to die free than to what?
(a) Lie incessantly.
(b) Live in the South.
(c) Be thrown into jail.
(d) Live as a slave.

5. What kind of job does Mary Lulu Jackson tell her mother she would like to have?
(a) A nurse.
(b) A bookseller.
(c) A typist.
(d) A milliner.

Short Answer Questions

1. About what type of violence does the poem entitled "Who but the Lord" revolve?

2. The speaker of the poem "The South" says at the end of the poem that he will soon seek the North, for he has heard it said that the North is what?

3. What is the main theme of the poem entitled "Still Here"?

4. In the poem "Harlem Night Song," the speaker repeats that he wants the listener to perform what action with him?

5. The speaker of the poem "Negro" states that he has been a singer "all the way from Africa" (5) to where?

Short Essay Questions

1. With what countries does the speaker of the poem "Good Morning Revolution" ally himself?

2. To what element does Hughes compare the object of a drum in the poem entitled "Drum"?

3. In what way is the theme of isolation depicted within the poem entitled "Little Old Letter"?

4. In what way is the water motif included within the very first poem in the collection?

5. In what way does the speaker of the poem "Daybreak in Alabama" want to commemorate the beauty of the titular subject?

6. What action does the speaker of the poem entitled "October 16:The Raid" want the reader to take regarding John Brown?

7. How is the theme of family bonds depicted within the poem entitled "Mother to Son"?

8. In what way is the water motif depicted differently within the poem "The Bitter River" than in many other works within the Vintage Hughes collection?

9. In what way are the themes of brutality and oppression intertwined within the poem "Ku Klux"?

10. In what way are sensory details used within the poem entitled "Harlem Night Song"?

(see the answer keys)

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