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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. What view does the author have of the afterlife?
(a) It is his only comfort.
(b) It does not exist.
(c) It is a vital part of the fabric of the human psyche.
(d) It is an unknown.

2. What poet inspired the author while at Howard University?
(a) Maya Angelou.
(b) Robert Hayden.
(c) Jack Kerouac.
(d) Robert Frost.

3. Who were the first white people the author knew on a personal level?
(a) His editors.
(b) Hippies.
(c) Reporters.
(d) Religious zealots.

4. As a child, what baffled the author about the nonviolent protests of the civil rights moment?
(a) He had been raised in a violent society.
(b) Kids should not see violent television.
(c) He felt the police should have helped more.
(d) Violence is illegal.

5. What sense does the author describe experiencing as he watched television as a child?
(a) Injustice.
(b) Hope.
(c) Confusion.
(d) Jealousy.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did the author and his friends illegally obtain alcohol when they were underage?

2. What bothers the author about artists like Michael Jackson?

3. What is PG County?

4. Who said, "Either I can beat him, or the police"?

5. What field did the author pursue after he left Howard University?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reasons did the author's father punish him and why?

2. How does the author compare his childhood to that of his son?

3. What revelation does the author have about the European perception of Africans during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

4. According to the author, how has the lack of fathers and father-figures affected black children?

5. How does the author define the word "black"?

6. What role did violence play in the author's childhood?

7. How did fear shape the author's childhood?

8. What is the symbolism behind the author's son's name?

9. What does the author mean when he asks: "How do I live free in this black body?"

10. What does the author mean when he says the school system and the streets are "two arms of the same beast"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,227 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample