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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. What did Hughes's mother do after he left home to return to New York?

2. What was the general atmosphere on the S.S. Malone during its journey on the coast of Africa?

3. Where did Hughes meet Sonya?

4. What did Hughes do after the end of his freshman year at Columbia?

5. Where did Hughes's ship land on Christmas eve in 1923?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the contents of the one box Hughes brought with him on the ship? What was he thinking about as he threw the contents of the box off of the S.S. Malone into the ocean?

2. How did Hughes meet someone in Paris who helped him find a place to stay, and who was the person? What was the surprise Hughes found when he went up to his room?

3. How long did it take Hughes to find work in Paris? What job did he finally get? What was his pay?

4. How did Hughes begin writing poetry? Did he like writing poetry? What was his style of poetry?

5. What were some of the sights and sounds Hughes witnessed upon entering New York waters? How did he react to them?

6. What kinds of things happened on board Hughes's ship from New York to Rotterdam? How were they different than the typical passage aboard the S.S. Malone?

7. How did Hughes convince his father to allow him to attend Columbia University in New York? When did Hughes leave Mexico for college?

8. Who was Edward? How did Hughes meet him?

9. How did Hughes react to being in college at Columbia University? What were the problems he identified?

10. After leaving college, what jobs did Hughes try to get? What job did he end up getting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Hughes boarded the S.S. Malone, he brought a box with him on the ship. One night shortly after the ship embarked on its journey to Africa, Hughes dumped the contents of his box into the ocean. This was an important event in Hughes' life. What was in the box that was thrown overboard, and why did Hughes toss everything into the ocean? What did he hope to change in his life by this symbolic act?

Essay Topic 2

Hughes was asked to participate in a interracial conference at Franklin and Marshall College. He related two important stories, one about how he and Alain Locke were treated at Hill School in Pennsylvania and another about the practical and meaningful topic he suggested be discussed at the conference. Discuss these two stories and what they meant to Hughes and how they affected his life at college and after.

Essay Topic 3

While living in Paris, Hughes met many unique people with whom he shared wonderful experiences. Who were some of those people and those experiences? What about them made them unique enough to Hughes to remember them in his autobiography? Why were they important in his life as a writer, a poet, and a person?

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