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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. Who does Langston meet in Ashkhabad?

2. How much success does Langston have with these submissions?

3. Where does Langston stay the following summer in order to complete his first novel?

4. With what is Hughes' poetry often infused?

5. Who is Aimie Semple McPherson?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Hughes travel to Spain?

2. What does Langston do, while he is in Chicago?

3. Who is Jesse B. Simple?

4. What does Langston do while in Carmel, California?

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

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

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

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

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

10. Describe Langston's poetry-reading tour.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Hughes throws his books over the edge of a ship.

Part 1) Why had a brought the books along? Why does he throw them overboard?

Part 2) What causes this decision? How does this action reflect his view of life and his work?

Part 3) What does this reveal about his beliefs about his trip to Africa?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 966 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample