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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 street does Sam begin to frequent once he falls back into a pattern of compulsive gambling?

2. How many of the stories in the collection have never before been presented to a modern audience?

3. What object belonging to her grandmother does Isis use as a festive outfit for dancing at the carnival?

4. What objects does John like to place in the water near his home in order to pretend he is following them?

5. What is the last name of Isis, the protagonist of the story "Drenched in Light"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What contrast between the white culture and the black culture does Hurston highlight within the opening of "Black Death"?

2. In what way is Hurston a bit of an anomaly within the literary movement with which she is associated?

3. In what way is the theme of family bonds depicted in the story entitled "John Redding Goes to Sea"?

4. In what way does the story entitled "A Bit of Harlem" put forth an argument about the need for intersectionality when it comes to the discussion of race?

5. Discuss the significane of the final line of the story entitled "The Conversion of Sam."

6. Discuss the significance of the final passages included within the story "John Redding Goes to Sea."

7. In what way does Hurston depict the difference between the two generations depicted in "Magnolia Flower"?

8. What does the young disabled man featured in "A Bit of Harlem" say his teacher had told him about heaven? Why is this comment significant?

9. For what reason does John leave the house during a storm in the story entitled "John Redding Goes to Sea"?

10. Describe the ten-year-old protagonist of the story "John Redding Goes to Sea," as he is introduced at the beginning of the story.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Hurston use sensory details in order to strengthen the messages sent in particular stories? Discuss at least two stories that include the use of sensory details and pull quotes from these stories to support your claim.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the ways in which the themes of adaptability and resignation appear within Hurston’s collection Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick. What message is Hurston sending about these two themes over the course of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

All of the characters in the collection have specific yet varied relationships with money. Examine the theme of money in the text and how it affects the various characters.

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