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.
b. planting time.
c. harvest.
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.
b. putting a scarecrow in the field.
c. planting late in the spring.
d. planting the seeds very deep.
6. What is the mood of this poem?
a. happy
b. concerned
c. despairing
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.
b. have no hope of true success.
c. they are being punished.
d. must eat what they are served.
Vocabulary ( A black man talks of reaping)
____
9. When seeds are sown, they are
a. planted.
b. purchased.
c. stored.
____ 10. To suffer through a lean year is to have
a. bad weather.
b. a large crop.
c. an unproductive season.
____ 11. When a person reaps what he sows, he
a. produces clothes.
b. harvests his crop.
c. plows his fields.
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.
b. a copy of a famous gem.
c. made of gold and diamonds.
____ 22. When the butcher unsheathed his knife, he
a. placed it into a wooden knife block.
b. sharpened it with a whetstone.
c. removed it from a protective case.
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.
b. pale skin.
c. long, thin fingers.
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.
b. books.
c. hat and scarf.
d. patent leather shoes.
Vocabulary (from Dust Tracks on a Road)
____ 31. To be exalted is to
a. be humbled.
b. be held high in esteem.
c. he spared troubles.
____ 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.
b. become more powerful.
____ 41. The people will be ashamed by their
a. reaction to the speaker’s attractiveness.
c. eat better food.
d. learn from past treatment.
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.
b. people who entertain others.
c. just Hughes.
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.
b. help their oppressors.
c. give up easily.
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.
b. facing a wall.
c. fighting a lopsided battle.
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.
b. against the wishes of others.
c. in one’s own personal interests.
____ 50. To be constrained from acting is to be
a. refused or rejected.
b. forced or limited.
c. encouraged or praised.
____ 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.
b. darkness.
c. sleeping.
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
b. New York City
c. Atlanta
d. Chicago
____ 55. The “threshold” is a doorway to
a. death.
b. exhaustion.
c. nightmares.
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.
b. barnyard animals.
c. cows in a pasture.
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.
b. the Harlem Art Workshop.
c. the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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.
b. lyrics to a song.
c. parts of a symphony.
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.
b. African Americans.
c. the human race.
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.
b. worsen the fears.
c. create new 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.
b. dark or murky.
c. bright and shiny.
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.
b. his future.
____ 85. Where is the speaker in the poem?
c. difficult times.
d. childhood poverty.
a.
b.
c.
d.
in an orchard picking fruit
in a citrus fruit grove
in a farmer’s market in Puerto Rico
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.
b. in shabby attire.
c. in loose-fitting trousers.
____ 97. An impromptu party is held
a. after much planning.
b. in a public site.
c. with no preparation.
____ 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.