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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. Where does Langston say he met a man named Simple?

2. Where does the incident occur where the colored teachers of a school were told they'd be fired if Hughes, an assumed Communist, read his poetry?

3. What does this group of individuals decide to create?

4. Where does Hughes live in Barcelona?

5. Into what language are Langston's poems translated?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Langston do when he returns to Harlem?

2. What does Langston do with the money he earns from the movie?

3. What is significant about "Don't You Want to Be Free?"

4. What does Langston do upon returning to the United States?

5. Where do Langston and his mother move? How is this beneficial?

6. What does Langston do after his first year at Lincoln?

7. What does Langston do with a four hundred dollar prize for "Not Without Laughter?"

8. Who is Jesse B. Simple?

9. Why does Hughes' poetry get him into trouble?

10. What happens to the movie for which Hughes had been asked to become a writer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hughes' father is interested in paying for him to go to college.

Part 1) What does his father want him to study? What does Langston want to study?

Part 2) Why does his father want him to go to college? How is this motive revealed in the book?

Part 3) How does his father's reason for sending Langston to college reinforce Langston's opinion of him?

Essay Topic 2

A theme found in much of Hughes' work is the optimism of humor.

Part 1) How is this a theme?

Part 2) How is humor optimistic? What does this reveal about Hughes?

Part 3) How might this theme draw readers to Hughes' work?

Essay Topic 3

Langston goes on a poetry-reading tour.

Part 1) Describe this tour. Why does he go on this tour?

Part 2) How does he affect those to which he speaks? Why?

Part 3) How is Hughes affected by the people to which he speaks and meets?

Part 4) How does racism continue to play a role in Hughes' life during this time?

(see the answer keys)

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