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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. Why is Langston's summer in Toluca not a bad one?

2. What does Langston do at the end of the summer?

3. Whose poems does Langston like?

4. What does Auntie Reed insist that Langston do?

5. That spring, where is Langston invited to spend the summer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Langston do, now that he has become interested in social issues?

2. How does Langston feel about attending church with the Reeds?

3. What does Langston do after dropping out of Columbia?

4. How is Langston, again, affected by racism, on his train ride home from Mexico?

5. Why does Langston return to Mexico for the summer?

6. What happens when Langston becomes a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel?

7. Why do Langston's classmates believe he would be a good poet?

8. How is Langston affected by his father's attitude?

9. How is Langston affected by racism at this point in his life?

10. What jobs does Langston have while living with the Reeds?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hughes is a sociologist.

Part 1) How do you know this?

Part 2) How does his curiosity about society get him into trouble? Why does it get him into trouble?

Part 3) How does he use this interest in sociology affect his poetry, as well as his popularity as an artist?

Essay Topic 2

Hughes has a strong work ethic.

Part 1) How is this revealed early in his life? How does he come about this work ethic?

Part 2) How does this affect his art?

Part 3) Would he have been as successful without this curiosity and interest in the world? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

One of this text's themes regards the division between black and white.

Part 1)How is this theme revealed in Langston's family?

Part 2) How does this theme surface throughout the book?

Part 3) How is there irony in this theme when Langston travels to Africa?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 800 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample