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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 were the two boys to whom the poem "The Bitter River" is dedicated?

2. In what position is the subject of the poem "Troubled Woman"?

3. What kind of job does Mary Lulu Jackson tell her mother she would like to have?

4. In the poem "I Dream a World," to what object does the speaker compare joy by using a simile?

5. Who is the speaker of the poem entitled "Madam and the Rent Man"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is irony used within the poem entitled "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?

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

3. The poem entitled "I, Too" is a response to a poem by what famous American author?

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

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

6. 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?

7. Which two marginalized groups are focused upon within the poem "America"?

8. What is the main literary device Hughes uses within the poem entitled "Joy"?

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

10. The poem "Madam and Her Madam" utilizes humor in what way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how and why Hughes instills three different humanist messages into the collection entitled Vintage Hughes.

Essay Topic 2

What is the collection's message concerning the link between hope and progress?

Essay Topic 3

What is the function of Mrs. Ellsworth’s character within the story entitled "The Blues I’m Playing"? Discuss the characterization methods used by Hughes in depicting Mrs. Ellsworth and include in your discussion the reasons that Hughes portrays Mrs. Ellsworth in these particular ways.

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