A Small Needful Fact Quizzes

A Small Needful Fact Quiz

1 Who wrote "A Small Needful Fact?"

Roberto Huyen

Ros Guy

Ross Gay

Robert Hayden
2 Where was the poem originally published?

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

Be Holding

on Ross Gay's personal website

Split the Rock Poetry
3 What is the form and meter?

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in two stanzas with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.

The fourteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza in iambic pentameter.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.
4 What is the "fact" mentioned in the poem's title?

Garner once worked for the Parks and Rec. Horticultural Department

Garner's life was tragically cut short

Plants convert sunlight into food

Garner was forty-three when he died
5 When was Ross Gay born?

1974

1973

1969

1981
6 How does the poet describe Garner's hands?

very large

gentle

large

calloused
7 How did Eric Garner die?

He died after a police officer placed him in a chokehold

He did not die

He died when a police officer shot him

He passed away from an asthma attack
8 What words became part of a national movement?

Let me go

Give me freedom

I can't breathe

Let my people go
9 Which poem is "A Small Needful Fact" in conversation with?

Amiri Baraka's "Frederick Douglass"

Robert Hayden's "Frederick Douglass"

Robert Hayden's "An Agony. As Now."

Amiri Baraka's "An Agony. As Now."
10 What does Gay speculate that Garner did?

sell cigarettes

attempt to defend himself

put gently into the earth some plants

keep the peace in his community
11 What is relevant about the way Gay writes about Garner?

Gay writes about Garner's past job

Gay explicitly protests Garner's death

Gay honors Garner's life without attempting to sanctify him

Gay writes against police brutality
12 Where does the word "hedge" come from?

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of"

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

The plants that often line sidewalks and houses
13 Which hedging phrases are used in the poem?

"presumably," "so to speak," and "seems"

"perhaps," "in all likelihood," and "most likely"

"may," "think," and "to some extent"

"It is clear that" and "it has been suggested"
14 Finish the quote: "continue to do what such plants do, like ___ creatures"

be pleasant and nice-smelling

give breath to

house small

house and feed small and necessary
15 Where does the word "like" come from?

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of”

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

Old English word gelic, originally any plant, living or artificial
16 What is horticulture?

the way culture changes over the course of history

the razing of a garden

the term for systemic racism

relating to the art or practice of garden cultivation and management
17 What is the last movement of the poem?

"continue to grow" (Line 9)

"like being pleasant to touch and smell" (Line 12)

"like making it easier / for us to breathe" (Lines 14-15)

"like converting sunlight into food" (Line 13)
18 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of the poem?

Nature and Connection

Breath

Honoring a Life

The Glory of Faith
19 What do the poem's hedging phrases and commas NOT accomplish?

Cause the reader to rush through the reading

Create pauses for breath

Contribute to the impact of the final lines

Provide a tone of hesitation
20 How does the language about nature in this poem contrast from other works by Gay?

The flat and banal language of this poem contrasts Gay's usual exuberant descriptions

Gay uses sensory details in this poem whereas he usually does not

Gay does not usually write about nature

This poem's metaphors contrast Gay's typical matter-of-factness
21 On Gay's personal website, what does he say he is interested in studying?

Poetry

Happiness

Joy

Horticulture
22 In Robert Hayden's sonnet, what important comparison is made that is relevant to "A Small Needful Fact?"

Liberty is a beautiful dream

Frederick Douglass is embodied through the practice of liberty

Freedom should belong to all

Freedom and liberty are needful to man as air
23 How was Eric Garner known in his community?

as a storyteller

as a gardener

as a musician

as a peacemaker
24 Which of the following is not true about the poem?

The poem honors a man without trying to sanctify him

The poem is composed of a single sentence

The poem was widely shared across social media

The poem implicitly deals with Garner's past work
25 Which line from Gay's book Be Holding relates to "A Small Needful Fact?"

"but holds them both / in their flight"

"for shooting the woman / and the little girl"

"a docent / in the museum of black pain"

“fly some from the overboard”

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Study Guide for A Small Needful Fact

A Small Needful Fact study guide contains a biography of Ross Gay, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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