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 MetropolitanMuseum 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 MetropolitanMuseum 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.