Merry-Go-Round

Who is the speaker in "Merry-Go-Round"?

• a young black child

• a yound white child

• an old black man

• an old white man

What can the merry-go-round symbolize in "Merry-Go-Round" to the reader today?

• the cyclical process of entertainment

• the clyclical process of life

• the cyclical process of love

• the cyclical process of racism

What should the merry-go-round be a metaphor for? Consider the conflict that the speaker has on it and the larger conflict or setting of the merry-go-round

• childhood

• the past

• racism

• the world

What is the theme of 'Merry-Go-Round"?

• Racial discrimination is arbitrary and illogical

• Racial discrimination is complicated but needed

• Racial discrimination is logical and sound

• Racial discrimination is outdated and irrelevant

What would a reader have to know or research to understand the sociocultural context of "Merry-Go-Round"?

• Brown vs. Board of Education

• Jim Crow laws

• Loving v. Virginia

• Plessy v. Ferguson

How does Hughes subvert the connotation of a merry-go-round?

• He takes something generally fun and happy and makes it tragic and unfair

• He takes something generally fun and happy and makes it scary and supernatural

• He takes something generally creepy and unsettling and makes it positive and nostalgic

• He takes something generally creepy and unsettling and makes it comforting and cool

Why did Hughes likely pick his speaker for "Merry-Go-Round"?

• to suggest who benefits the most from racism

• to suggest who is indifferent or neutral to racism

• to suggest who racism negatively impacts the least

• to suggest who racism negatively impacts the most

What is a paradox that the speaker encounters in "Merry-Go-Round"?

• The reality of racism has opened up to him in the form of a closed circle.

• The reality of racism has been closed or ended in the form of a closed circle.

• The reality of racism will never be known by visiting the merry-go-round.

• The reality of racism will consume and corrupt him becuse of the merry-go-round.

The horse in the poem could symbolize all of the following except which?

• equality

• opportunity

• recreation

• slavery

Considering the setting, where will the speaker likely sit on the merry-go-round?

• He will likely ride wherever he wants because he is in the North

• He will likely ride wherever the Jim Crow section is for the merry-go-round

• He will likely not be allowed to ride the merry-go-round at all

• He will likely not want to ride the merry-go-round to protest Jim Crow laws.