View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The speaker of the poem entitled "The South" says that the South smells of what scent?

2. From what object were the two boys hung to whom the poem "The Bitter River" is dedicated?

3. The poem entitled "Share-Croppers" has stanzas that contain how many lines within each?

4. What event occurred to stop the speaker of the poem "Madam's Past History" from running her first business?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What question lies at the heart of the poem entitled "Ku Klux" and to whom is the question being asked?

2. In what way is the theme of isolation depicted within the poem entitled "Little Old Letter"?

3. In what way is repetition used within the poem entitled "Brass Spittoons"?

4. How are sensory details incorporated into the poem "Daybreak in Alabama" and for what purpose?

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

6. The poem entitled "I, Too" is a response to a poem by what famous American author?

7. How is irony used within the poem entitled "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?

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

9. In what way is irony utilized within the poem entitled "The South"?

10. In what way is the theme of racially-motivated brutality present within the poem entitled "The Bitter River"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within the collection entitled Vintage Hughes. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the collection.

Essay Topic 2

Explicate the theme of hope within the collection Vintage Hughes. What is Hughes’s message regarding hope and how do you know?

Essay Topic 3

Trace the characterization arc of Cora’s character throughout the story "Cora Unashamed." Discuss whether Cora is a round or flat character and whether she is a static or dynamic character.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 991 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample