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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. Where did Hughes meet Vachel Lindsay?

2. How did Hughes describe the Saturday night rent parties he attended?

3. Who brought the disciples of Gurdjieff to Harlem?

4. After he returned to America from Italy, how much did Hughes figure his first European trip had cost him?

5. Who did Countee Cullen marry?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Hughes's patron feel about black in America? How did this manifest itself in her relationship with Hughes?

2. Who was Bruce? Why did he become upset at work? What happened when the boss fired him? How did this affect Hughes?

3. What benefit cabaret was hosted by the NAACP to which Hughes was invited? Who did he meet there? Who was singing at the club when he entered?

4. What event brought Hughes to the South in 1927? How did he react to the South and southern cities?

5. How did Hughes describe the wedding of Countee Cullen? Why was the wedding the talk of Harlem for a time? How was Hughes involved?

6. What were some of the places in Italy Hughes saw aboard the ship headed for New York? What happened to him in Valencia?

7. What did Florence do after the brawl at the Grand Duc? How did this affect the club and what did the owner finally do?

8. Where did Hughes attend college during the 1920s? When was the college founded and by whom? Where is the college located?

9. What was "Not Without Laughter"? Why was it important in Hughes's life?

10. What happened to Hughes on his was back to France that changed his travel plans?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

One of the issues Hughes raised again and again in his book was that of race. He often remarked on the color of his skin, whether he was a "black man" in one country and not in another. What are some of the major threads of the theme of race that run through Hughes's book? Why are they an important part of Hughes's autobiography?

Essay Topic 3

What was "The Weary Blues"? Discuss how Hughes came to write it, how it was received, and from where it got its title.

(see the answer keys)

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