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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 is the middle initial of the woman at the center of the poem "Madam and the Census Man"?

2. In the poem entitled "Prime," how much is a nickel repeatedly said to cost?

3. The daughter within the poem entitled "Mama and Daughter" is on her way to see whom?

4. What term is used to describe the people who bury the man at the center of the poem "Dead in There"?

5. About whom is the speaker of the poem "Silent One" speaking?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what purpose does Hughes use allusion within the poem entitled "Projection"?

2. What does the speaker of the poem entitled "Junior Addict" suggest as the solution for the addiction problem in the subject?

3. In what way does the poem entitled Madam and the Census Man" display the theme of pride in identity?

4. What state is being described within the poem that contains as its first three lines the words, "Oh, what sorrow!/Oh, what pity!/Oh, what pain" (115)?

5. What possibilities does Hughes imagine in relation to a "dream deferred" (108) in perhaps his most famous poem, entitled "Harlem [2]"?

6. What is the setting of the poem entitled "Projection"?

7. In what way is the theme of collectivism present within the poem entitled "To You"?

8. What is the Existential viewpoint of the poem entitled "Advice"?

9. Discuss one humanist message put forth within the poem entitled "Junior Addict."

10. For what purpose does Hughes invoke a large number of allusions within the poem entitled "Final Call"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look carefully at the passages and poems within the collection that demonstrate the damaging nature of the exoticism of black people within America. What is the author's purpose for discussing at length the nature of the connection between racism and the exoticism of African-Americans within society?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the instances of irony within the collection entitled Vintage Hughes and analyze Hughes's purpose for including each instance you discuss.

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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