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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. The poem "America" focuses on which two marginalized groups?

2. What is the name of the fortune teller's lover in the poem entitled "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?

3. The speaker of the poem "The South" says at the end of the poem that he will soon seek the North, for he has heard it said that the North is what?

4. What is the main theme of the poem entitled "Still Here"?

5. When the speaker of the poem "Sylvester's Dying Bed" wakes up, by whom is he surrounded?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way is the water motif included within the very first poem in the collection?

2. In what way are the themes of brutality and oppression intertwined within the poem "Ku Klux"?

3. In the poem entitled "Widow Woman," how is the technique of hyperbole utilized?

4. In what way is the water motif depicted differently within the poem "The Bitter River" than in many other works within the Vintage Hughes collection?

5. To what element does Hughes compare the object of a drum in the poem entitled "Drum"?

6. In what way does the speaker of the poem "Daybreak in Alabama" want to commemorate the beauty of the titular subject?

7. In what way is the theme of peace depicted in the poem called "Death of an Old Seaman"?

8. What is the Existential viewpoint of the poem entitled "I Dream a World"?

9. The poem "Madam and Her Madam" utilizes humor in what way?

10. What is the main literary device Hughes uses within the poem entitled "Joy"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Hughes's focus on the theme of brutality in the collection entitled Vintage Hughes. What message is Hughes sending about change and about one other theme of your choice?

Essay Topic 2

What is the collection's message concerning the link between hope and progress?

Essay Topic 3

Determine Hughes’s message regarding the idea that racism acts as a barrier to understanding, to people's physical and emotional well-being, and to opportunity.

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