Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What is the avowed aim of the American protest novel?
2. What does Baldwin say is the hatred symbol of Harlem?
3. What newspaper rivaled the Amsterdam Star-News in the 1940s?
4. How are the oppressed and oppressor described in the book, Notes of a Native Son?
5. Who is the author of Native Son?
Short Essay Questions
1. How are Ebony and Our World Magazines different?
2. Why does Baldwin think that there is nowhere on earth for the black man to call home?
3. According to Baldwin, what is the legend of Paris? What is the legend's connection to reality?
4. According to Baldwin, how does an individual become an American? And what does this mean for African Americans?
5. Why did many of the Americans that chose to study in Paris after the war, return to the United States?
6. How does Baldwin escape prosecution in Paris?
7. What did the Melodeers do to displease Mrs. Price?
8. Why is it important to examine the myths about African Americans in order to discover what it means to be a "Negro in America"?
9. What did Baldwin determine is the main similarity that the American Negro and the French Negro share?
10. Why does Baldwin conclude that the religion of the villagers is Catholicism?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
In the chapter Many Thousands Gone, Baldwin describes what it means to be a "Native Son" for black men. In a later essay, Notes of a Native Son, Baldwin describes his life as a "Native Son." How does Baldwin's description compare to his personal account? In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different? Please use examples from the book to support your answer.
Essay Topic 2
In Equal in Paris, Baldwin chooses to live in Paris, a place where he is considered a stranger. How does Baldwin's experience as a stranger in Paris differ from his experience as a stranger in his own country, the United States? Likewise, what similarities exist between Baldwin's experience as a stranger in Paris and the United States? Please use examples from the book to support your answer.
Essay Topic 3
Baldwin wrote each of the essays in the book Notes of a Native Son between 1940 and 1959 and he published each in various publications during that time. Why do you think Baldwin selected these particular essays for inclusion in the book? Please use examples from the book to support your answer.
This section contains 1,102 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |