View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The story of Carmen Jones deals with what type of people?
(a) Immortal.
(b) Moral.
(c) Immortal
(d) Amoral.

2. Why does Baldwin assert that White people contribute to the perpetuation of the stereotypical characters such as Aunt Jemima and Uncle Tom?
(a) Because Whites want to believe the happy, subservient personas of Black people
(b) Because Whites like being entertained by the stereotypical figures of Black Americans.
(c) Because African Americans love to imitate these types of stereotypical characters.
(d) Because Whites want to believe that Black people are unhappy with their lives.

3. Where can the true raison d'être of the Negro press be found?
(a) Letters to the editor.
(b) Ebony magazine.
(c) The front pages of the Negro newspapers.
(d) Lifestyle sections of the Black magazines.

4. Baldwin believes that the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin should have been:
(a) A Short Story.
(b) A Novel.
(c) A Play.
(d) A Pamphlet.

5. What does Baldwin claim Jews and Negroes must use in order to be accepted in the 1940s and 1950s?
(a) Every weapon possible.
(b) Religion.
(c) American History.
(d) Knowledge of American society.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who had the money to pay for the Melodeers' accommodations in Atlanta?

2. Which of the following is not a characteristic given to history by Baldwin?

3. According to Baldwin, why has the face of the Negro changed over time?

4. How long did the quartet's trip to Atlanta last?

5. How does Baldwin describe the American Ideal?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Baldwin, how do white Americans react to the American Negro's presence in Paris?

2. Why do you think Baldwin decided to reveal his own personal reflections in the chapter entitled Notes of a Native Son?

3. What is Henry Wallace's role in the Progressive Party?

4. How does Baldwin describe the social climate that existed when Richard Wright was writing Native Son?

5. Why did ex-GIs question their identity while studying in Paris?

6. What is the significance of the protest novel?

7. Why do you think Baldwin experiences a sense of melancholy after his father's death?

8. What is the significance of having the evil and immoral characters played by very dark complected Negroes in the film Carmen Jones?

9. In the essay entitled Everybody's Protest Novel, why does Baldwin use the first person narrative perspective?

10. What are some of the limitations that make it hard for Baldwin to tolerate the French prison system?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,154 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample