Harlem Renaissance Study Guide



Harlem Renaissance Study Guide

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Recall and Interpret ( A black man talks of reaping)

____ 1. In “A black man talks of reaping,” the word “I” refers to

|a. |a cotton farmer. |

|b. |all African American farm workers. |

|c. |all humans. |

|d. |anyone who works in agriculture. |

____ 2. The time frame covered in this poem is

|a. |before the Civil War. |c. |harvest. |

|b. |planting time. |d. |unlimited time. |

____ 3. When the speaker says “beside all waters,” he means that

|a. |African American workers have farmed in many places. |

|b. |those who farm along the Mississippi River. |

|c. |people cannot farm beside the ocean. |

|d. |all rivers flow down to the sea. |

____ 4. The speaker fears wind and birds because they

|a. |eat corn from the cob. |c. |blow away seeds. |

|b. |crush wheat crops. |d. |cause serious erosion. |

____ 5. The speaker saves his crop by

|a. |watering heavily in the morning. |c. |planting late in the spring. |

|b. |putting a scarecrow in the field. |d. |planting the seeds very deep. |

____ 6. What is the mood of this poem?

|a. |happy |c. |despairing |

|b. |concerned |d. |indignant |

____ 7. From the lines “small wonder then my children glean in fields/they have not sown…,” the reader can infer all of the following EXCEPT that

|a. |African Americans work as field hands. |

|b. |African Americans do not own their own land |

|c. |many African Americans are involved in agriculture. |

|d. |the lives of African Americans are steadily improving. |

____ 8. The children eat “bitter fruit” because they

|a. |have nothing else to eat. |c. |they are being punished. |

|b. |have no hope of true success. |d. |must eat what they are served. |

Vocabulary ( A black man talks of reaping)

____ 9. When seeds are sown, they are

|a. |planted. |c. |stored. |

|b. |purchased. |

____ 10. To suffer through a lean year is to have

|a. |bad weather. |c. |an unproductive season. |

|b. |a large crop. |

____ 11. When a person reaps what he sows, he

|a. |produces clothes. |c. |plows his fields. |

|b. |harvests his crop. |

Recall and Interpret (Any Human to Another)

____ 12. The theme of “Any Human to Another” is that

|a. |The speaker wants people to recognize his emotions. |

|b. |African Americans are happy and sad. |

|c. |all humans feel the same emotions. |

|d. |few people share their deepest thoughts. |

____ 13. The line “like sea and river” refers to

|a. |a person drowning in his own tears. |

|b. |the lack of emotion found in nature. |

|c. |an attempt to wash away grief. |

|d. |the blending of two people’s emotions. |

____ 14. When the speaker talks of “A little tent pitched in a meadow,” he means that

|a. |people cannot survive all alone. |

|b. |camping is one way of communing with nature. |

|c. |people have a right to do what they wish. |

|d. |people do better living by themselves. |

____ 15. When the speaker says “Joy may be shy,” he means that

|a. |unfriendly people never feel joy. |

|b. |shy people feel more joy than outgoing people. |

|c. |few people come to truly know joy. |

|d. |joy and sorrow are experienced in equal portions. |

____ 16. To what item does the speaker compare grief?

|a. |a sword |c. |bones |

|b. |arrows |d. |a crown |

____ 17. The lines “My sorrow must be laid/On your head like a crown” refer to

|a. |individual demands of friendship. |

|b. |shared burdens of sorrow. |

|c. |unwritten laws of social behavior. |

|d. |dumping one’s burdens on someone else. |

____ 18. In general, the speaker feels that all people have emotions, particularly

|a. |sympathy. |c. |love. |

|b. |joy. |d. |sorrow. |

Vocabulary (Any Human to Another)

____ 19. If a lightning bolt fused a wire to a metal plate, the wire was

|a. |blended with the metal. |c. |electrified. |

|b. |separated from the metal. |

____ 20. Ellen was known for having diverse talents. Her talents were

|a. |common and boring. |c. |artistic and intellectual. |

|b. |different and varied. |

____ 21. If a piece of jewelry is unique, it is

|a. |unlike any other jewelry. |c. |made of gold and diamonds. |

|b. |a copy of a famous gem. |

____ 22. When the butcher unsheathed his knife, he

|a. |placed it into a wooden knife block. |c. |removed it from a protective case. |

|b. |sharpened it with a whetstone. |

Recall and Interpret (from Dust Tracks on a Road)

____ 23. “Dust Tracks on a Road” means

|a. |a poorly paved city alley. |

|b. |the path Zora Neale Hurston walked as she grew up. |

|c. |the footprints a child leaves on a path. |

|d. |the history of education in rural Florida. |

____ 24. The reader knows that visitors are important at the school because the

|a. |children must wash, dress better, and wear shoes. |

|b. |teacher has the children give the visitors gifts. |

|c. |children put on a play to impress the visitors. |

|d. |parents offer a special treat to impress the visitors. |

____ 25. The teacher ensures the best behavior of the children by the

|a. |promise of candy. |c. |threat of a whipping. |

|b. |promise of extra recess. |d. |threat of telling the parents. |

____ 26. How does the reader know that Hurston grew up in a segregated area?

|a. |She knew only three white people as a child. |

|b. |She gets rides to the end of the road in white people’s cars. |

|c. |Her grandmother scolds her for her behavior. |

|d. |She learns to read the Greco-Roman myth. |

____ 27. Calhoun is upset when the two Minnesota women visit because

|a. |he was not prepared for them to come. |

|b. |he had planned to test the students. |

|c. |most of the children were not in the school. |

|d. |the classroom had not been properly cleaned. |

____ 28. Young Zora is fascinated by the women’s

|a. |fancy jewelry. |c. |long, thin fingers. |

|b. |pale skin. |d. |expensive leather shoes. |

____ 29. After her visit to the hotel, the women give Zora a

|a. |slate for writing her lessons. |c. |new dictionary. |

|b. |pair of shoes. |d. |roll of new pennies. |

____ 30. Of the gifts she receives in the big package, Zora most values the

|a. |red coat. |c. |hat and scarf. |

|b. |books. |d. |patent leather shoes. |

Vocabulary (from Dust Tracks on a Road)

____ 31. To be exalted is to

|a. |be humbled. |c. |he spared troubles. |

|b. |be held high in esteem. |

____ 32. If students snicker at someone’s mistakes, they

|a. |shy away from the embarrassment. |c. |laugh in a snide manner. |

|b. |refuse to watch. |

____ 33. When Charlie said he was indifferent about music, he meant that he

|a. |had no feeling about it. |c. |had great musical talent. |

|b. |was enthusiastic about it. |

____ 34. We were surprised by the boy’s brazenness toward his teacher because he

|a. |waved in a friendly manner. |c. |acted in a defiant way. |

|b. |spoke in a gentle tone. |

Recall and Interpret (I, Too)

____ 35. What does the phrase “darker brother” imply?

|a. |a relationship between all people |c. |two brothers in the same family |

|b. |close family ties |d. |people with no relationship |

____ 36. The meaning of “I, too, sing America,” is that

|a. |African Americans know patriotic music. |

|b. |Hughes wants to be a citizen. |

|c. |African Americans are part of the American culture. |

|d. |everyone in America sings the same songs. |

____ 37. What does the meal eaten in the kitchen represent?

|a. |a long heritage of being treated as second-class citizens |

|b. |the work of African Americans as cooks and butlers |

|c. |the lack of social manners by many people |

|d. |a failure to understand African American culture |

____ 38. The speaker believes that in the future he will

|a. |recognize his enemies. |c. |know more about history. |

|b. |learn table manners. |d. |be included in American culture. |

____ 39. How does Hughes say the speaker deals with being sent to the kitchen?

|a. |sorrow |c. |laughter |

|b. |anger |d. |revenge |

____ 40. The phrase “grow strong” means to

|a. |acquire better muscles. |c. |eat better food. |

|b. |become more powerful. |d. |learn from past treatment. |

____ 41. The people will be ashamed by their

|a. |reaction to the speaker’s attractiveness. |

|b. |failure to recognize the speaker. |

|c. |ignorance of proper manners. |

|d. |treatment of African Americans in the past. |

____ 42. In this poem, “I” is

|a. |all Americans. |c. |just Hughes. |

|b. |people who entertain others. |d. |only brothers. |

Recall and Interpret (If We Must Die)

____ 43. The speaker urges his fellow African Americans not to be like

|a. |dogs on the hunt. |c. |pigs being slaughtered. |

|b. |cowards in battle. |d. |monsters in the night. |

____ 44. The mad and hungry dogs are

|a. |people who oppress African Americans. |

|b. |animals on the city streets. |

|c. |people who steal from others. |

|d. |police and government officials. |

____ 45. The speaker wishes his people to

|a. |work harder. |c. |give up easily. |

|b. |help their oppressors. |d. |die nobly. |

____ 46. What reaction does the speaker expect from defying the “monsters”?

|a. |anger |c. |fear |

|b. |respect |d. |anxiety |

____ 47. The speaker compares civil rights to

|a. |causing trouble. |c. |fighting a lopsided battle. |

|b. |facing a wall. |d. |understanding various cultures. |

____ 48. The last two lines of the poem are an example of

|a. |an heroic couplet. |c. |an extended metaphor. |

|b. |terza rima. |d. |tercet. |

Vocabulary (If We Must Die)

____ 49. To behave nobly is to act

|a. |with superior morals or character. |c. |in one’s own personal interests. |

|b. |against the wishes of others. |

____ 50. To be constrained from acting is to be

|a. |refused or rejected. |c. |encouraged or praised. |

|b. |forced or limited. |

____ 51. A person who dines with his kinsmen is one who eats with

|a. |enemies from past battles. |c. |people of a similar background. |

|b. |friends on a sports team. |

Recall and Interpret (My City)

____ 52. The phrase “endless night” is a metaphor for

|a. |sorrow. |c. |sleeping. |

|b. |darkness. |d. |death. |

____ 53. What verse form does Johnson use for My City?

|a. |English sonnet |c. |quatrain |

|b. |terza rima |d. |Petrachan sonnet |

____ 54. What city does the speaker celebrate?

|a. |Boston |c. |Atlanta |

|b. |New York City |d. |Chicago |

____ 55. The “threshold” is a doorway to

|a. |death. |c. |nightmares. |

|b. |exhaustion. |d. |sleep. |

____ 56. The speaker offers a several images of things he will not miss, including all EXCEPT

|a. |cows. |c. |raindrops. |

|b. |flowers. |d. |birds. |

____ 57. What is noticeable about all the images in the first stanza?

|a. |They are all aspects of nature. |

|b. |They can all be found in a city park. |

|c. |They are all items from the speaker’s youth. |

|d. |They are all romantic in nature. |

____ 58. The phrase “patient herds” refers to

|a. |people on a street. |c. |cows in a pasture. |

|b. |barnyard animals. |d. |children at play. |

____ 59. What does the speaker say he will miss if he dies?

|a. |the peace of the country |c. |the majesty of the mountains |

|b. |the bustle of the city |d. |the rolling ocean waves |

____ 60. How does the speaker present a balanced view of the city?

|a. |He compares the city both in day and night. |

|b. |He knows that people from all walks of life live in cities. |

|c. |He talks about sights and sounds. |

|d. |He mentions both shining towers and slums. |

Vocabulary (My City)

____ 61. If a girl makes subtle changes to her hair, she makes changes that are

|a. |barely noticeable. |c. |dreadfully obvious. |

|b. |clearly dramatic. |

____ 62. When the speaker presented the stark truth about Manhattan, he was

|a. |making a nice compliment. |c. |telling the complete truth. |

|b. |speaking an unpleasant truth. |

____ 63. When Will tried to explain his unutterable sorrow, he could not because his loss was

|a. |too distant to be completely remembered. |

|b. |too recent for him to deal with it. |

|c. |too deep to be put into words. |

Recall and Interpret (Stanzas from a Black Epic)

____ 64. The Jacob Lawrence collection was unique because it was the first

|a. |painting by an African American artist. |

|b. |African American collection owned by the Museum of Modern Art. |

|c. |art produced in the twentieth century. |

|d. |collection based on historic events. |

____ 65. Which of these was a major theme of Lawrence’s art?

|a. |the Great Migration |c. |cotton farming |

|b. |the Civil War |d. |dancing |

____ 66. Lawrence’s work is considered an “epic” because it

|a. |deals with classic heroes. |

|b. |revolves around the life of one person. |

|c. |is a united body of work on a common theme. |

|d. |creates the same effect as larger paintings. |

____ 67. Lawrence received art training at

|a. |his local high school. |c. |the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |

|b. |the Harlem Art Workshop. |d. |a local art dealer’s studio. |

____ 68. The subjects of Lawrence’s paintings are based on events Lawrence discovered through

|a. |history classes. |c. |a book of hymns. |

|b. |his imagination. |d. |his southern heritage. |

____ 69. Lawrence’s art collection can be compared to

|a. |stanzas in an epic poem. |c. |parts of a symphony. |

|b. |lyrics to a song. |d. |pages in a book. |

____ 70. Key themes that appear in Lawrence’s work are

|a. |religion and poverty. |c. |sorrow and anger. |

|b. |work and play. |d. |permanence and resistance. |

Recall and Interpret (The Negro Speaks of Rivers)

____ 71. What is the tone of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”?

|a. |resentful |c. |angry |

|b. |thoughtful |d. |aggressive |

____ 72. The “I” in this poem represents

|a. |Hughes. |c. |the human race. |

|b. |African Americans. |d. |no one in particular. |

____ 73. “I’ve known rivers” means that

|a. |Hughes has worked on rivers. |

|b. |humanity has evolved where these rivers run. |

|c. |rivers have been more important in the past. |

|d. |conservation of water resources is important to the speaker. |

____ 74. How does Hughes depict ancient time?

|a. |“My soul has grown deep” |c. |“all golden in the sunset” |

|b. |“I built my hut” |d. |“when dawns were young” |

____ 75. Which phrase indicates prehistoric times?

|a. |“it lulled me to sleep” |

|b. |“older than the flow of human blood in human veins” |

|c. |“and raised the pyramids above it” |

|d. |“I heard the singing of the Mississippi” |

____ 76. Which rivers represent civilizations in Africa?

|a. |the Euphrates and the Ganges |c. |the Mississippi and the Euphrates |

|b. |the Ganges and the Mississippi |d. |the Nile and the Congo |

____ 77. The speaker mentions Abraham Lincoln because Lincoln

|a. |decided to end slavery when he visited New Orleans as a young man. |

|b. |stood up against the southern states in the Civil War. |

|c. |represent the North and the end of segregation. |

|d. |had traveled the Mississippi River from Illinois to New Orleans. |

____ 78. The speaker refers to rivers as “dusky” because ancient rivers

|a. |bear the color of a long history. |

|b. |are usually polluted. |

|c. |have darker water than recent rivers. |

|d. |move slowly and are full of silt. |

Vocabulary (The Negro Speaks of Rivers)

____ 79. To lull a child’s fears is to

|a. |soothe the fears away. |c. |create new fears. |

|b. |worsen the fears. |

____ 80. If a man returns to the bosom of his childhood, he is going to the

|a. |family he grew up with. |c. |heart of his youth. |

|b. |location of his youth. |

____ 81. A dusky hue is

|a. |pale but colorful. |c. |bright and shiny. |

|b. |dark or murky. |

Recall and Interpret (The Tropics in New York)

____ 82. Where does the reader assume the speaker comes from originally?

|a. |the American West |c. |upstate New York |

|b. |a southern state |d. |a Caribbean island |

____ 83. The items mentioned in the first three lines are significant because they are all

|a. |common vegetables. |c. |tropical products. |

|b. |exotic spices. |d. |native plants. |

____ 84. To the speaker, bananas and cocoa represent

|a. |his home. |c. |difficult times. |

|b. |his future. |d. |childhood poverty. |

____ 85. Where is the speaker in the poem?

|a. |in an orchard picking fruit |

|b. |in a citrus fruit grove |

|c. |in a farmer’s market in Puerto Rico |

|d. |outside a fruit store in New York |

____ 86. The speaker describes the rolling hills of his island home as

|a. |hazy. |c. |nun-like. |

|b. |familiar. |d. |golden. |

____ 87. What is the attitude of the speaker in “The Tropics in New York”?

|a. |reserved |c. |gruesome |

|b. |homesick |d. |lighthearted |

____ 88. When the speaker feels these memories of home, he

|a. |bows his head and cries. |

|b. |smiles in a wry way. |

|c. |laughs aloud in public. |

|d. |purchases some of his favorite fruits. |

Vocabulary (The Tropics in New York)

____ 89. When a person gives a benediction at a meal, he or she is giving a

|a. |compliment to the cook. |c. |blessing over the food. |

|b. |serving of meat. |

Recall and Interpret (When the Negro Was in Vogue)

____ 90. In the late 1920s, what occurred that negatively changed the lives of both African Americans and whites?

|a. |popular dance clubs |c. |the stock market crash |

|b. |national radio broadcasts |d. |outstanding Broadway musicals |

____ 91. Among the most popular African American singers of the time were

|a. |Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. |

|b. |Hall Johnson and William Grant Still. |

|c. |Katharine Cornell and Margaret Wycherly. |

|d. |Mrs. Leslie Carter and W. Somerset Maugham. |

____ 92. White people in Manhattan were drawn to Harlem by

|a. |fancy restaurants. |c. |the Metropolitan Museum of art. |

|b. |the Cotton Club. |d. |schools and universities. |

____ 93. Which African American singer-piano player seemed to make a major impression on Hughes?

|a. |Gladys Bentley |c. |Jacob Lawrence |

|b. |George Gershwin |d. |Heywood Broun |

____ 94. African American dancers made cards offering to teach tourists how to do the

|a. |Charleston. |c. |turkey trot. |

|b. |lindy-hop. |d. |fox trot. |

____ 95. According to Hughes, the interest in Harlem did not last because

|a. |Harlem clubs closed. |

|b. |people became interested in Russia. |

|c. |it was a fad. |

|d. |the Harlem Renaissance ended abruptly. |

Vocabulary (When the Negro Was in Vogue)

____ 96. A woman dressed in vogue is dressed

|a. |in the current fashion. |c. |in loose-fitting trousers. |

|b. |in shabby attire. |

____ 97. An impromptu party is held

|a. |after much planning. |c. |with no preparation. |

|b. |in a public site. |

____ 98. When wealthy whites brought their patronage to Harlem, they brought their

|a. |friends. |c. |business. |

|b. |interest. |

____ 99. If you have a scintillating conversation, that conversation is

|a. |boring. |c. |important. |

|b. |brilliant. |

____ 100. When the country celebrate the millennium, it was honoring

|a. |an epoch of war. |c. |a period of peace. |

|b. |an era of exploration. |

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