question

Signifying

answer

genre of African-American expressive culture that involves witty put-downs and playful self-assertion

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Vernacular

answer

consists of forms sacred--songs, prayers, and sermons--and secular--work songs, secular rhymes and songs, blues, jazz, and stories of many kinds.

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Spirituals

answer

religious songs first sung by African Americans since the earliest days of slavery and first gathered in a book in 1801 by black church leader Richard Allen

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Spirituals

answer

examples of this type of African American expression are "Ezekial Saw de Wheel," "Go Down, Moses," "Been in the Storm So Long," and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."

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Secular Songs

answer

examples of this type of African American expression are "We Raise de Wheat," "Promises of Freedom," and "Jack and Dinah Want Freedom"

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Benjamin Banneker

answer

wrote to Thomas Jefferson saying "Are you not also guilty of that most criminal act which you professedly detested in others?"

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James M. Whitfield

answer

wrote "America" in 1853, a bitter parody of the patriotic hymn "American the Beautiful"

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Nat Turner

answer

black preacher who led an insurrection of slaves in 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia

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Fugitive Slave Law

answer

the controversial Comprimise of 1850 instituted this law, among others, which tried to maintain a balance of power between the North and the South

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Fugitive Slave Narrative

answer

from 1830 to the end of the slavery era, this type of African American expression dominated the landscape of antebellum black America

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George Moses Horton

answer

wrote "The Lover's Farewell" and "Division of an Estate"

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George Moses Horton

answer

born in a slave in Northampton County, NC. Wrote made-to-order love poems for the students of the state university at Chapel Hill

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George Moses Horton

answer

wrote the books "Hope of Liberty" and "Naked Genius"

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Phyllis Wheatley

answer

the first African American to publish a book and the first to achieve an international reputation as a writer

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Phyllis Wheatley

answer

wrote "Poems on Various subjects, Religious and Moral"

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Phyllis Wheatley

answer

wrote "On Being Brought from African to America," "To His Excellency General Washington," etc. Often wrote in heroic couplets

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David Walker

answer

the most militant voice among early African American protest writers, reputed to have had a price on his head

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David Walker

answer

wrote "Appeal" in which he states "we (coloured people of these United States of America) are the most wretched, degraded, and abject set of beings that ever lived since the world began

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Victor Sejour

answer

author of "The Mulatto"

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The Mulatto

answer

it first appeared in 1837 in a journal published in Paris and is the earliest known work of African American fiction

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Georges

answer

the main character of "The Mulatto"

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Alfred

answer

the slave owner in "The Mulatto"

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Laisa

answer

Georges's mom in "The Mulatto"

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Zelia

answer

Georges's wife in "The Mulatto"

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Sojourner Truth

answer

born a slave in Ulster County, New York, made a famous speech "Ar'n't I a Woman?" at the woman's rights convention in Akron, OH, 1851

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Harriet Jacobs

answer

born in Edenton, NC around 1813, wrote "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

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Linda Brent

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the main protagonist and Harriet Jacob's alter ego in "Incidents"

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Dr. Flint

answer

evil slave owner who tries to seduce Linda in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," Dr. James Norcom's fictional ego

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Mr. Sands

answer

the white attorney by whom Linda has her two children in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave girl"

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Willie (William)

answer

Linda's brother in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

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Aunt Martha

answer

Linda Brent's grandmother on her mothers side and one of her closest friends, hides in the attic crawl space of her house in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

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Benny and Ellen

answer

these are the names of Linda Brent's son and daughter in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

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Mrs. Hobbs

answer

from "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," this character is Mr. Sand's cousin, who holds Linda's daughter in virtual slavery

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Mrs. Bruce

answer

Linda Brent's employer in "Incidents," buys her freedom

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Emily Flint

answer

Dr. Flint's daughter in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," comes up to New York with Mr. Dodge to capture Linda (in accordance with the Fugitive Slave Law)

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Frederick Douglass

answer

one of the most prominent African American figures in the abolitionist movement, escaped from slavery in Maryland, published his own antislavery newspaper called The North Star and wrote an autobiography that was published in 1845

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Harriet Bailey

answer

Frederick Douglass's mother

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Captain Anthony

answer

Frederick Douglass's first master

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Aunt Hester

answer

Frederick Douglass witnesses her being whipped at a young age by Captain Anthony

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Mrs. Auld

answer

begins as a very kind woman who starts to teach Frederick Douglass how to read until her husband commands her to stop, in "Narrative"

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Mr. Covey

answer

man known for "breaking" uncooperative slaves in Frederick Douglass's "Narrative"

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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

answer

a memoir and treatise on abolition, it is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves

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Reconstruction

answer

period after the civil war between 1865-1877, included the passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th ammendments

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Ku Klux Klan

answer

a brutal vigilante group established in 1866 that unfortunately still exists to this day

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Jim Crow Laws

answer

these laws legalized segregation in virtually every area of life

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Du Bois

answer

this man disagreed with Booker T. Washington's position and called upon blacks to insist on equal rights. He was a founder of the NAACP and editor of its journal, "The Crisis."

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Du Bois

answer

wrote "The Souls of Black Folk"

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double-consciousness

answer

a term used by W. E. B. Du Bois in "The Souls of Black Folk" that term describes the awareness of one's self as well as an awareness of how others perceive you

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Booker T. Washington

answer

Prominent black American, born into slavery, who believed that racism would end once blacks acquired useful labor skills and proved their economic value to society, was head of the Tuskegee Institute in 1881

question

Booker T. Washington

answer

wrote "Up From Slavery"

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Booker T. Washington

answer

catapulted to national leadership of black America on the strength of an address he had given at the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta, George

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Mrs. Ruffner

answer

Booker T. comes to work in her house and it's from her that he learns the value of cleanliness.

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General Armstrong

answer

He is the most dominant influence in Booker T.'s life, founder of the Hampton Institute

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Mary Mackie

answer

She is the admission counselor when Booker T. seeks entrance to Hampton. She tests him through the value of cleanliness and work before she will admit him to the school.

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Booker T. Washington

answer

famous for saying "Cast down your bucket where you are" and referring to separate but equal as the five fingers of a hand

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Harlem Renaissance

answer

period from 1919-1940 in which an explosion of creativity took place among African American artists

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The Great Depression

answer

event most responsible for the decline of the Harlem Renaissance

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Nella Larsen

answer

this author wrote "Quicksand"

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Helga Crane

answer

main protagonist in "Quicksand"

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James Vayle

answer

Helga's fiance in "Quicksand," also worked at Naxos

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Dr. Anderson

answer

Principal at Naxos and arguably the love of Helga's life in "Quicksand"

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Anne Grey

answer

Helga's friend in Harlem, eventually ends up marrying Dr. Anderson (Quicksand)

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Dahl

answer

last name of the relatives that Helga goes to live with in Denmark in "Quicksand"

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Axel Olsen

answer

portrait painter in Denmark who proposes to Helga in "Quicksand"

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Audrey Denney

answer

woman in harlem who is also mixed-race and seems to not have the same hang ups as Helga in "Quicksand"

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Reverend Pleasant Green

answer

man who Helga ends up marrying, has his kids in "Quicksand"

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Zora Neale Hurston

answer

a key writer of the Harlem Renaissance, wanted to document African American folklore, traveled all across the South collecting tales, songs & prayers

question

Zora Neale Hurston

answer

this author wrote "Mules and Men"

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Zora Neale Hurston

answer

this author wrote "Sweat"

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Zora Neale Hurston

answer

this author wrote "The Gilded Six-Bits"

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Zora Neale Hurston

answer

this author wrote "How It Feels to be Colored Me"

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Delia Jones

answer

protagonist from "Sweat," washwoman

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Sykes

answer

antagonist from "Sweat," abusive husband

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Bertha

answer

Sykes's mistress in "Sweat"

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Missie May

answer

Joe's wife in "The Gilded Six-Bits"

question

Joe

answer

protagonist in "The Gilded Six-Bits"

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Otis D. Slemmons

answer

man who Missie May sleeps with to get some of his gold in "The Gilded Six-Bits," owner of the ice cream store

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Charlotte Mason

answer

patron for Hughes and Hurston during the Harlem Renaissance

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Langston Hughes

answer

A leading poet of the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and "Christ in Alabama"

question

Langston Hughes

answer

wrote "Theme for English B"

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Langston Hughes

answer

wrote the "Madam" poems and was heavily influenced by blues and jazz

question

Langston Hughes

answer

wrote the essay "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain"

question

Realism

answer

such books as Native Son (1940), Invisible Man (1952), and A Raisin in the Sun (1959) were examples of this type of literature, which is known for its depictions of life and society "as they were"

question

Naturalism

answer

a form of realism in literature that is often marked by pessimism, the gritty realities of urban life, for example

question

Modernism

answer

a literary movement that in part began as a revolt against the conservative values of realism

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The Commission on Civil Rights

answer

created by Truman in 1947, this may well have paved the way for the social change to come

question

Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education

answer

an important U.S. Supreme Court case in 1954 that desegregated public schools

question

Montgomery Bus Boycott

answer

this took place in December 1955 and marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, it began with a woman named Rosa Parks & involved Martin Luther King, Jr. as well

question

Richard Wright

answer

This author was born in 1908 on a plantation near Natchez, Mississippi

question

Richard Wright

answer

The author of "Long Black Song" and "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow"

question

Silas

answer

The name of the husband in "Long Black Song"

question

Ruth

answer

The name of Silas and Sarah's child in "Long Black Song"

question

Sarah

answer

The name of the woman/protagonist in Richard Wright's "Long Black Song"

question

James Baldwin

answer

an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic who was born in 1924 in Harlem, NY

question

James Baldwin

answer

This author's stepfather, Daniel, was an "embittered, authoritarian lay preacher" but the author left the church and renounced Christianity

question

James Baldwin

answer

The author of "Everybody's Protest Novel"

question

James Baldwin

answer

The author of "Going to Meet the Man"

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Jesse

answer

The name of the man/protagonist in "Going to Meet the Man"

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Grace

answer

The name of Jesse's wife in James Baldwin's "Going to Meet the Man"

question

Otis

answer

The name of Jesse's boyhood friend in "Going to Meet the Man"

question

Gwendolyn Brooks

answer

This author spent most of her life in Chicago, but was born in Topeka, KS

question

Gwendolyn Brooks

answer

This poet wrote "the mother," "a song in the front yard," and "We Real Cool"

question

Richard Wright

answer

This author became obsessed with the poetry form Haiku in the last couple years of his life, writing thousands of them

question

The Civil Rights Movement

answer

a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between 1950s and 80s. It often took the form of nonviolent protest

question

Martin Luther King, Jr.

answer

for his efforts in the Civil Rights Movement, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964

question

Woolworth's

answer

in 1960, four black college students occupied seats at a segregated lunch counter in this store in Greensboro, NC

question

Greensboro Four

answer

the nickname given to the four black college students who occupied seats at a segregated lunch counter in 1960

question

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

answer

this act outlawed the discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S.

question

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

answer

this act outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public ("public accommodations")

question

The Civil Rights Act of 1968

answer

this act prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, or national origin. It also provided protection for civil rights workers.

question

Thirteenth Amendment

answer

this amendment officially abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime

question

Fourteenth Amendment

answer

this amendment made it illegal to deny citizenship based on race, it also called for due process and equal protection regardless of race

question

Fifteenth Amendment

answer

this amendment prohibits the government from denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude" (i.e., slavery)

question

The Nation of Islam

answer

a new religious movement founded in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the U.S. One of its more famous leaders was Malcolm X

question

Malcolm X

answer

an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was assassinated at age 39 in New York on Feb 21st, 1965

question

Martin Luther King, Jr.

answer

an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, known for using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. He was assassinated at age 38 in Memphis, TN on April 4th, 1968

question

Black Panther Party

answer

a militant, revolutionary, leftist African-American organization active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. It achieved national and international notoriety through its involvement in the Black Power movement and in U.S.

question

Amir Baraka

answer

author of "Dutchman"

question

Clay

answer

male protagonist of Amir Baraka's "Dutchman"

question

Lula

answer

female antagonist of Amir Baraka's "Dutchman"

question

August Wilson

answer

one of only seven American dramatists ever to win two Pulitzer Prizes and the first African American to have two plays running simultaneously on Broadway

question

August Wilson

answer

his major works are all part of a cycle of ten plays, each of which explores a central issue facing African Americans in a different decade of the 20th century

question

Seth Holly

answer

the owner of the boardinghouse in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Bertha Holly

answer

the wife of the owner of the boardinghouse in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Bynum Walker

answer

a rootworker/ medicine man who had a religious experience with the Shiny Man in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Rutherford Selig

answer

the peddlar who sells dustpans door to door and is nicknamed "The People Finder" in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Jeremy Furlow

answer

a young man who plays guitar and refuses to pay a white man for the privilege to work in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Herald Loomis

answer

a man who comes to stay at the boardinghouse and has been looking for his wife in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Zonia Loomis

answer

Herald's daughter in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Mattie Campbell

answer

a woman looking for love in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," Jeremy leaves her and she rushes after Herald Loomis at the very end of the play

question

Reuben Scott

answer

the boy who lives next door to the boardinghouse in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," he tends to Eugene's pigeons

question

Molly Cunningham

answer

a young woman who comes to stay at the boardinghouse and catches Jeremy's eye in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Martha Loomis

answer

Herald's wife, for whom he and his daughter have been searching in "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

question

Milkman (aka Macon Dead III"

answer

The protagonist of the novel "Song of Solomon." He earned the nickname because he was breastfed by his mother well past a socially acceptable age

question

Pilate Dead

answer

Macon Jr.'s younger sister in "Song of Solomon." Born without a navel, she is responsible for Milkman's safe birth and continues to protect him for years afterward. She also takes care of her daughter, Reba, and granddaughter, Hagar.

question

Macon Jr. (aka Macon Dead II)

answer

Milkman's father and Ruth's husband in "Song of Solomon." Traumatized by seeing his father murdered during a skirmish over the family farm, he develops an obsession with becoming wealthy.

question

Guitar Bains

answer

Milkman's best friend in "Song of Solomon." His father was killed in a factory accident, and he harbors a lifelong hatred for white people, whom he sees as responsible for all evil in the world.

question

The Seven Days

answer

the radical African-American group to which Guitar belongs in "Song of Solomon"

question

Hagar

answer

Pilate's granddaughter and Milkman's lover in "Song of Solomon." She devotes herself to Milkman, even though he loses interest and frequently rejects her.

question

Macon Dead (aka Macon Dead I)

answer

Milkman's grandfather, he was abandoned in infancy when his father, Solomon, flew back to Africa and his mother, Ryna, went insane. He was raised by an Indian woman, Heddy. The mysterious legend of his identity motivates Milkman's search for self-understanding.

question

Ruth Foster Dead

answer

Macon Jr.'s wife and the mother of Milkman, First Corinthians, and Lena in "Song of Solomon." She feels unloved by everyone except her deceased father

question

Dr. Foster

answer

Ruth's father in "Song of Solomon," the relationship between them is a subject of some debate in the novel; at one point Ruth is caught sneaking out in the middle of the night to visit his grave

question

Reba (aka Rebecca)

answer

Pilate's daughter and Hagar's mother in "Song of Solomon," has an uncanny ability to win contests such as the Sears half-millionth customer diamond ring giveaway

question

First Corinthians Dead

answer

Milkman's sister, educated at Bryn Mawr and in France. Her passionate love affair with a yardman, Henry Porter, crosses class boundaries.

question

Magdalene Dead (aka Lena)

answer

Another of Milkman's sisters, her rebuke of Milkman's selfishness demonstrates her inner strength.

question

Michael-Mary Graham

answer

The Michigan poet laureate in "Song of Solomon." She hires First Corinthians as a maid & represents the double standard of white liberals.

question

Circe

answer

A maid and midwife who worked for the wealthy Butler family in "Song of Solomon." She delivered Macon Jr. and Pilate. She provides crucial information that reconnects Milkman with his family history

question

Sing (aka Singing Bird)

answer

an Indian woman, she is Milkman's grandmother and Macon Dead I's wife in "Song of Solomon"

question

Henry Porter

answer

First Corinthians's lover and a member of the Seven Days vigilante group in "Song of Solomon"

question

Robert Smith

answer

An insurance agent and member of the Seven Days vigilante group. Smith's attempt to fly off of the roof of Mercy Hospital begins Song of Solomon's exploration of flight as a means of escape

question

Freddie

answer

A janitor employed by Macon Jr. He coins the nickname "Milkman" for Ruth's son, showing that original names are often forgotten and replaced in "Song of Solomon"

question

Solomon

answer

Milkman's great-grandfather, who supposedly flew back to Africa but dropped his son Jake shortly after taking off, he is the titular character in Toni Morrison's 1977 novel

question

Ryna

answer

Milkman's great-grandmother and Solomon's wife. When Solomon abandons her, she goes mad. According to legend, her cries can still be heard.

question

Sweet

answer

A prostitute with whom Milkman has a brief affair in "Song of Solomon"

question

Candy Marshall

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" she is part-owner of the plantation on which Beau is killed; it is her idea to organize the old men together

question

Mathu

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" the man everyone suspects of killing Beau, he is the only one who has stood up to Fix

question

Mapes

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" the Sheriff of Bayonne, it is his job to make an arrest for Beau's murder

question

Lou Dimes

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" he is Candy's boyfriend and the most frequent narrator in the novel; he works as a journalist

question

Miss Merle

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" the owner of the plantation, her role is fairly limited; at one point she brings sandwiches for the men

question

Beau Boutan

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" cajun farmer who works on the plantation and is shot/killed, the event that leads to the events in the story

question

Fix Boutan

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" Beau's father, a cajun who is feared by other members of the community for his violent behavior

question

Gil Boutan

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" one of the star players on the LSU football team, Beau's brother

question

Charlie

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" it turns out that he was the one who killed Beau

question

Jack Marshall

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" owner of the plantation, he is drunk throughout the entire novel

question

Bea Marshall

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" part owner of the plantation, spends most of her time drinking, married to Jack

question

Snookum

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" the child who narrates the first chapter

question

Luke Will

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" leads a group of men to the plantation to take revenge on Beau's death

question

Clatoo

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" one of the old men, he picks everyone up in his truck

question

Jameson

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" the name of the preacher who refuses to go along with the scheme

question

Sully

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" football player at LSU who accompanies Gil to the plantation

question

Tee Jack

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" owner of the local bar where Luke Will and his boys liquor up before heading to the plantation

question

Coot

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" one of the old men, he fought in World War I and wears his uniform to the plantation out of pride

question

Dirty Red

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" one of the old men, his family has a reputation for cowardice, which he hopes to correct by his actions on the plantation

question

Cal Harrison

answer

character in "A Gathering of Old Men" star player for LSU, together he and Gil make salt and pepper

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