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african american literature MCQs

Practise focused african american literature questions with marked answers for exam preparation and subject revision.

african american literature Mcqs
1. Which of the following statements about slavery is true ?
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A. Most slaves were not Christian.

B. Slave owners did not allow their slaves to live as married couples.

C. Most slave children lived in two family homes.

D. Slaves were given limited civil rights.

2. The importance of Lucy Terrys Bars Fight is______________?
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A. The poetry focuses on slave life in the 18th century.

B. The poem is the first of many poems by Terry.

C. The poem is the first-known writing of an African American.

D. The poem is better than the poems of the more famous Phillis Wheatley.

3. What was special about Zora Neale Hurstons home town of Eatonville, Florida ?
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A. It was destroyed after the Civil War.

B. Most of its inhabitants worked for White people.

C. It was home to the Harlem Renaissance.

D. It was primarily African American.
4. Which author relied on complex characters and dialect to overturn American stereotypes about Southern African Americans ?
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A. Charles Chesnutt

B. Richard Wright

C. Booker T. Washington

D. William Wells Brown

5. In writing Beloved, Toni Morrison drew on what for inspiration ?
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A. Her own memories of slavery.

B. Slave narratives.

C. Stories her grandmother told her.

D. The television series Roots.

6. Spirituals like Go Down Moses were important to African Americans because_______________?
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A. They helped them do their work faster.

B. They were based on African songs.

C. They gave hope that God would deliver them from slavery.

D. They showed that a hero would deliver them from slavery.

7. What unforgivable action does Mag Smith take in Chapter One of Our Nig ?
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A. She washes clothes for White women.

B. She lets a man help her out.

C. She marries a Black man.

D. She tries to pass as White.

8. Why was the drop of blood rule developed ?
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A. To make sure mothers of mixed-race children got custody.

B. To allow mixed-race children to get scholarships meant for African Americans.

C. To keep the slave offspring of White slave owners from inheriting.

D. To keep White slave owner parents of mixed-race offspring from having to pay for their children.

9. Why is the couple in Arna Bontempss A Summer Tragedy getting dressed up ?
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A. To go pay old man Stevenson.

B. To go to church.

C. To go to a party.

D. To end their lives.
10. The genre Octavia Butlers Bloodchild is______________?
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A. Tragedy.

B. Horror.

C. Mystery.

D. Science Fiction.
11. In Paul Laurence Dunbars A Cabin Tale, which character is a trickster figure?
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A. Bear.

B. The young boy.

C. Weasel.

D. The farmer.

12. In Chapter Three of Booker T. Washingtons Up from Slavery, Washingtons primary goal is to______________?
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A. Get a job.

B. To be a teacher

C. Get an education.

D. To be clean.

13. Frederick Douglass argued that slaves sang spirituals for all of the following reasons except______________?
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A. To pray for deliverance

B. To impress the horrors of slavery on listeners

C. To show that they were content in their work

D. To ease their pain

14. In Paul Laurence Dunbars When Malindy Sings, what kind of music is Malindy singing ?
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A. Cakewalk tunes.

B. Blues.

C. Gospel.

D. Jazz.

15. In Chapter XV of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, where did Linda hide ?
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A. In the stables.

B. With a friend.

C. Under the floorboards.

D. In a remote cabin.

16. Who wrote Uncle Toms Cabin, an indictment of slavery ?
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A. Harriet Beecher Stowe

B. Phillis Wheatley

C. Richard Wright

D. Frederick Douglass

17. The characteristic of Naturalism that is most present in the first chapter of Ralph Ellisons Invisible Man is_____________?
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A. The theme of heredity.

B. The theme of man against nature.

C. The theme of man against man.

D. Nature as an invisible force.

18. According to Henry Louis Gates, Jr., reconstructing black people into the New Negro has been a matter of_______________?
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A. Working against the existing racist stereotypes.

B. A struggle ongoing since 1619.

C. Redefining black people in terms of a presence, not an absence.

D. All of the above
19. Sonia Sanchezs right on: white america is protesting________________?
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A. The fact that America still has a frontier mentality.

B. Black on black violence.

C. The extermination of Native Americans.

D. That there is a Black America and a White America.

20. Arna Bontempss A Summer Tragedy attacks the institution of________________?
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A. Sharecropping.

B. Segregation.

C. Slavery.

D. Prostitution.

21. Slave owners resisted abolition for what reason ?
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A. Slaveholders objected to losing leisure time.

B. Slaveholders felt economic security rested on the system of slavery.

C. B and C.

D. A and C.

E. Slaves outnumbered non-slaves and might rebel.

22. The importance of Lucy Terrys Bars Flight is________________?
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A. The poem is filled with Christian symbolism.

B. The poems form of rhymed tetrameter couplets.

C. The fact that the poem is the most accurate account of the 1742 Indian-White engagement in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

D. The poem shows her future work as a advocate of civil rights.

23. The fact that Claude McKay visited Russia in 1922 exemplifies the following theme of Modernism_____________?
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A. Collectivism versus the authority of the individual.

B. The disassociated, anomic self.

C. The impact of WWI and the 1918 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

D. The wearing away of traditional class structures.

24. David Walkers Appeal in Four Articles argues that_________________?
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A. The races should not intermarry.

B. Blacks have the duty to resist slavery.

C. Blacks should return to Africa.

D. Christians the only ones not to blame for the existence of slavery.

25. Which characteristic of the slave narrative did Frederick Douglass include in the first chapter of his Narrative ?
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A. Narration of a deserved punishment.

B. Depictions of a beautiful rural environment.

C. The authors father is often a white man.

D. Descriptions of the kinds of food and clothing slaves were given.

26. The Day Duke Raised by Quincy Troupe is a jazz poem because______________?
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A. The poem can be set to music.

B. The poems rhythmic lines.

C. The references to jazz songs and musicians.

D. There is repetition.

27. Who wrote Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ?
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A. Harriet Jacobs

B. Lucy Terry

C. Harriet Wilson

D. William Wells Brown

28. Why does Dee want the quilt in Alice Walkers Everyday Use ?
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A. She doesnt want Maggie to have it.

B. She wants to display it for her friends to see.

C. She is proud of her heritage.

D. She loves the beauty of it.

29. The subject of Soujourner Truths Aint I a Woman is_______________?
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A. The rights of farm hands.

B. A and B.

C. Womens rights.

D. Negro rights.

E. The right to keep ones children.

30. In Gwendolyn Brooks poem, we real cool, the Golden Shovel is_______________?
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A. The name of a restaurant the pool players cannot enter.

B. A metaphor for the pool players who are trying to dig out of their neighborhood.

C. The name of a pool hall.

D. A metaphor for colossal lies they have been buried with.

31. During the early 20th century, a black persons purpose in passing might have been_________________?
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A. To escape from slavery.

B. None of the above.

C. To get better accommodations on the train, better seats in the theatre.

D. To obtain justice for black people.

32. The most important tenet of the Black Arts Movements is________________?
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A. African American art should exclude women.

B. African American images should inspire African Americans.

C. African American art should subvert the art of Europeans and White Americans.

D. African American literature should replicate educated White language.

33. In Chapter 11 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, how does Malcolm X survive prison ?
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A. Fighting.

B. Getting an education.

C. Contacting famous authors.

D. Making friends with the guards.

34. Who is the author of the novel Passing ?
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A. William Wells Brown

B. Charles Chesnutt

C. Nella Larsen.

D. James Weldon Johnson

35. For Booker T. Washington, racial uplift means_______________?
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A. Calling for violent uprisings.

B. ricans to reach their potential.</strong>

C. Rejecting all White assistance.

D. Allowing Whites to help African

E. Separating Blacks by income level

36. Neo-Slave narratives are contemporary novels written about slavery. Toni Morrisons Beloved is about the ghost of a baby the character Sethe murdered to keep her from being recaptured by their master. The opening chapter of the novel represents the neo-slave narrative by its________________?
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A. Condemnation of the plantation myth.

B. Examination of the psychological damage of slavery.

C. Insistence on desegregation.

D. Discussion of race relations in the North and South.

37. In Lucille Cliftons wishes for son, the narrator lists what wishes her sons ?
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A. That they have richer lives than hers.

B. That they learn from her mistakes.

C. That they have all they ever wished for themselves.

D. That they experience all the pain and embarrassment of being a woman.
38. Alice Walkers story, Everyday Use, includes which Womanist concern ?
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A. The negative consequences of feminism on the African American family.

B. The importance of African religious influence in America.

C. The importance of African American craftsmanship.

D. The importance of men to the African American family.

39. In Octavia Butlers Bloodchild, The Tlick keep the humans happy by_______________?
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A. Supplying them with narcotic eggs.

B. Paying them very well.

C. Freeing the males after they are hosts.

D. Letting them choose their own mates.

40. Slavery in the United States was officially abolished in ______________?
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A. 1804

B. 1807

C. 1848

D. 1865
41. W.E.B. Du Bois argued that a liberal arts college education was needed for______________?
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A. African American women.

B. Only White Americans.

C. The Talented Tenth.

D. All African Americans.

42. Booker T. Washingtons message in Up from Slavery is_______________?
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A. African Americans will have to help themselves by becoming educated.

B. African Americans should acculturate to mainstream White culture.

C. White institutions should reform to meet African American needs.

D. Whites should pay reparations to former slaves.

43. Native Son was written by___________________?
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A. Ralph Ellison.

B. Jean Toomer.

C. James Baldwin.

D. Richard Wright.
44. Richard Wright said he created the character of Bigger in Native Son because______________?
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A. He had known many Biggers in his life.

B. He wanted to show African American males how not to live.

C. He was trying to overcome his fears of powerful men.

D. He was proud of all the African American men he had seen stand up to Whites.

45. Brer Rabbit is an example of what kind of character ?
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A. Uncle Tom character who feels slavery is best for the African American

B. Representation of the slave master

C. Victim

D. Trickster
46. The term Civil Disobedience was coined by which author ?
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A. Henry David Thoreau

B. Booker T. Washington

C. William Gates

D. Alain Locke

47. The character of Delia in Zora Neale Hurstons Sweat was influenced by______________?
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A. Her mother.

B. Her best friend.

C. Her relationship with a patron.

D. Her job as a waitress.

48. Yusef Komunyakaas Blue Dementia is an example of what kind of poetry ?
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A. Jazz poetry

B. Lyric poetry

C. Protest poetry

D. Romantic poetry

49. In Ralph Ellisons Invisible Man, living underground is symbolic of_____________?
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A. The narrators invisibility to society.

B. The narrators attempt to stay hidden.

C. The narrators attempt to stay out of prison.

D. The narrators desire to be safe.

50. Harriet Jacobs wrote Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl to show______________?
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A. That female slaves were escaping more frequently than men.

B. That female slaves were more valuable than male slaves.

C. How slavery was worse for men.

D. How females were affected by slavery.