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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through A Question of Identity.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where is Harlem located?
(a) Georgia.
(b) New York.
(c) New Jersey.
(d) California.

2. What happened on the same day that Baldwin's father died?
(a) The ninth child was born.
(b) The seventh child was born.
(c) The eighth child was born.
(d) The tenth child was born.

3. Why is the language and dialect in the film Carmen Jones considered an insult on black people?
(a) Because the characters speak like northern born Negroes.
(b) Because the characters speak like enslaved Africans.
(c) Because the characters speak like stereotypical Negroes.
(d) Because the characters speak like antebellum Negroes adopting the patterns language of their masters.

4. Which group did Baldwin mention as living together in groups - in the same neighborhoods and student hotels - while in Paris in the 1940s and 50s?
(a) White Americans.
(b) Black soldiers.
(c) The French African.
(d) American Negroes.

5. What negative stereotype does the character Carmen Jones perpetuate?
(a) The stereotype of rampant sexuality.
(b) The stereotype of light skinned Negroes being smarter than dark skinned Negroes.
(c) The stereotype of Negro women being the desire of white men's lust.
(d) The stereotype of subservient Negro women.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the parents of the Melodeers oppose prior to their departure for Atlanta?

2. How does Baldwin say American life compares to life in other parts of the world in the 1940s?

3. How was the 1955 production of Carmen Jones different than previous productions?

4. What are there more of in Harlem than any other ghetto in the city?

5. What emotion of Baldwin's father does he describe as "never to be trusted"?

(see the answer key)

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