30 Questions
What is the significance of July 29, 1943, in the narrator's life?
It was the day the narrator was born and his father died.
What event occurred in Detroit a month before the narrator's father's death?
A violent race riot.
What did the narrator observe on the morning of August 3rd?
A wilderness of smashed plate glass.
What is the significance of the date of the narrator's father's funeral?
It was the narrator's 19th birthday.
What does the narrator imply about the timing of the riots and his father's death?
The riots were a corrective for the pride of his eldest son.
What is the tone of the narrator's description of the events surrounding his father's death?
Dissonant and brutally sarcastic.
What is implied about the narrator's relationship with their father?
They had a distant and prideful relationship
What is suggested about the narrator's father's life?
He was a free man, but his mother was born during slavery
What is the tone of the narrator when they think about their father's life?
Contemptuous and dismissive
What does the narrator come to realize after their father's death?
The significance of getting to know their father better
What is implied about the narrator's life in America?
It is characterized by a lack of time for intergenerational conversations
What is the narrator's attitude towards their own life after their father's death?
Apprehensive and contemplative
What was the typical outcome when the father tried to help his children with their homework?
The child's mind and tongue became paralyzed
What was a common consequence when the father brought a surprise home for his children?
Appalling scenes ensued
How did the father's inability to connect with others affect his career as a minister?
It led to him being in less demand over time
What was a characteristic of the father's behavior when meeting new people?
He was confident only briefly
What was a noticeable aspect of the father's early life?
He struggled to establish connections with others
What was the state of the father's relationships at the end of his life?
His friends had stopped visiting him for a long time
What was the narrator's realization about their father's bitterness after his death?
It was a warning to the narrator about the world.
What did the narrator's father suffer from?
Paranoia
How did the younger children feel after their father's death?
Relieved that he would not be coming home anymore.
What was the impact of the narrator's father's behavior on the family?
It caused physical and emotional harm.
Why did the narrator's mother's observation about their father mean nothing to the children?
Because the problems of keeping them alive were not real to them.
What did the narrator come to understand during their time away from home?
The weight of white people in the world.
What was the speaker's father suffering from?
Tuberculosis
Why did the speaker's father refuse to eat?
Because he thought his family was trying to poison him
What was the speaker's father doing when he was sitting at the living-room window?
Moaning and singing old songs and hallelujahs
Why was the speaker's father committed?
Because he refused to eat and thought his family was trying to poison him
How was the speaker's father fed when he refused to eat?
Intravenously
What was the outcome of the speaker's father's illness?
The disease of his mind allowed the disease of his body to destroy him
This quiz is about an excerpt from James Baldwin's 1955 essay 'Notes of a Native Son', where he writes about his father and racial issues in America. Explore the narrator's description of his father and more. Test your understanding of this influential literary work.
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