11th Grade Nine Weeks Exam Study Guide
Vocabulary: These are located in your book, so look them up! I’m not going to do
it for you!
1. brazenness
2. exalt
3. snicker
4. indifferent
5. lull
6. bosom
7. dusky
8. scintillating
9. vague
10. patronage
11. Who wrote “Breakfast”? John Steinbeck
12. What was the overall theme of “Breakfast”? Kindness
13. Why was it significant that the woman in “Breakfast” was nursing her baby the entire
time she was working? She had to multi-task. She had no help and had to do
everything on her own. She was also responsible for getting the two men of to
work in a timely manner. She had to do all her work in a timely manner.
14. What is the importance of these quotes? “We had 12 days’ work so far,” the young
man said” and The young man said, “We been eating good for 12 days.” Work and
food were scarce for most families during the Great Depression. The fact that this
young man counted how many days he had eaten and worked shows how much
he appreciated being able to do so.
15. Who wrote “A Rose for Emily”? William Faulkner
16. What was the smell in Miss Emily’s house? a dead body (Homer Barron’s dead
body)
17. What was Miss Emily hiding in her house? a dead body (Homer Barron’s dead
body)
18. Who was Homer Barron? The man Emily killed. Also, he is the man she was
interested in.
19. Why do you think Miss Emily’s servant left the house at the end of the story? He
didn’t want to be around when the body was found. Also, he was loyal to Emily
the entire time she was alive, so once she was dead, he had no reason to stay.
20. Who wrote “A Worn Path”? Eudora Welty
21. What was the name of the main character? Phoenix Jackson
22. Where was she going and why? To the clinic/doctor’s office/ hospital. To get
medicine for her grandson.
23. Describe the incident with the nickel. The white man dropped the nickel and
even though Phoenix was old, she still saw this. She had to be careful while
bending over and standing back up because she was so old. She felt guilty once
she retrieved the nickel because she felt as if she was stealing.
24. How did the people in the clinic treat the main character? They talked down to
her. They were condescending.
25. Who wrote “Black Boy”? Richard Wright
26. How did Richard feel about his father in the beginning and end of the short story?
As a child, he was afraid of him and did not like him. Once grown, he still didn’t
like him, but he pitied him.
27. Why did Richard run away from the orphanage? He was afraid of Ms. Simon.
28. Describe the situation surrounding Richard’s first personal experience with a white
person. He ran away from the orphanage and became lost. The “white” police
officer approached him. the “white” stood for what he thought white people were.
He had been taught not to trust white people and that they were scary. Once he
talked to one certain police officer, he realized that not all white people should be
feared and that they were actual people.
29. Who wrote “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”? Flannery O’Connor
30. What was Mr. Shiftlet’s disability? He only had one arm.
31. What was wrong with Lucynell the daughter? She was deaf.
32. What happened at the end of the story? Lucynell the daughter fell asleep at the
diner where she and Mr. Shiftlet stopped. While Lucynell was sleeping, Mr.
Shiftlet left her and took the car.
33. What did Claude McKay write?
“If We Must Die” and “Tropics in New York”
34. Where is McKay from?
Jamaica
35. Describe the meaning of both his poems.
“If We Must Die” In this poem, he is basically saying that racism is a fight he
knows won’t be won anytime soon (In that time period). He says that instead of
“taking it”, people should fight back against it and die with dignity.
“Tropics in New York” In this poem, he is telling about the things he misses
about his home country. In the poem he weeps which shows his sadness at being
away from the things he is most familiar with.
36. Who wrote “I Too”? Langston Hughes
37. What was the author describing in stanza’s 2 and 3? Stanza 2 - eating in the
kitchen when company comes is a metaphor for the differences in the way blacks
and whites lived during the 20s - 50s. Segregation was widespread, and the idea
of “separate but equal” was not always upheld. When he says : But I laughe, and
eat well, and grow strong, he is basically saying that even though he disagrees
with the way things are he will still grow and succeed as a person. He will still
better himself. Stanza 3 - Tomorrow stands for one day in the future when all
people have the same rights and privileges. This stanza speaks of the day that
Civil Rights becomes a reality.
38. Who wrote “Dust Tracks on a Road”? Zora Neale Hurston
39. What was significant about the main character’s interaction with the two white
women? It was uncommon for a white person to lavish gifts upon a person of
color at this time. Because they showed Hurston so much attention speaks to the
fact that she is extremely bright and they see her potential to grow in her
education. She also impr
40. Why did the main characarter’s mother make sure the main character was
presentable when she went to visit the white woman? By going to see the women,
Hurston acts (even though she may not want to) as a representative of her entire
community. During her first meeting with the women, Hurston wasn’t
“presentable”, yet she impressed the women with her reading skills. The
second meeting was a chance for her to show the women that she could dress
nice. This also spoke a lot about the pride of the mothers of the community.
41. Who wrote “My City”? James Weldon Johnson
42 What does the author say he will miss he most? his city; Manhattan
43. What is the Harlem Renaissance? a period of exchange of ideas...a period of
rebirth...a migration of African Americans to Harlem which led to a collaboration
of ideas
44. List one artist from the Harlem Renaisance and tell what they were known for. Look
on pages 646-647 to find the answer.
45. In your opinion, what impact did the Harlem Renaissance have on the U.S. today?
This is your opinion.