A Small Needful Fact Quizzes

A Small Needful Fact Quiz

1 Who wrote "A Small Needful Fact?"
Roberto Huyen

Robert Hayden

Ross Gay

Ros Guy
2 Where was the poem originally published?
Split the Rock Poetry

Be Holding

on Ross Gay's personal website

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
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 fifteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza in iambic pentameter.

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 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?
1969

1981

1974

1973
6 How does the poet describe Garner's hands?
calloused

large

very large

gentle
7 How did Eric Garner die?
He died when a police officer shot him

He died after a police officer placed him in a chokehold

He passed away from an asthma attack

He did not die
8 What words became part of a national movement?
Let my people go

Give me freedom

Let me go

I can't breathe
9 Which poem is "A Small Needful Fact" in conversation with?
Amiri Baraka's "Frederick Douglass"

Robert Hayden's "Frederick Douglass"

Amiri Baraka's "An Agony. As Now."

Robert Hayden's "An Agony. As Now."
10 What does Gay speculate that Garner did?
attempt to defend himself

put gently into the earth some plants

sell cigarettes

keep the peace in his community
11 What is relevant about the way Gay writes about Garner?
Gay explicitly protests Garner's death

Gay writes against police brutality

Gay honors Garner's life without attempting to sanctify him

Gay writes about Garner's past job
12 Where does the word "hedge" come from?
Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

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

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

The plants that often line sidewalks and houses
13 Which hedging phrases are used in the poem?
"It is clear that" and "it has been suggested"

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

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

"presumably," "so to speak," and "seems"
14 Finish the quote: "continue to do what such plants do, like ___ creatures"
be pleasant and nice-smelling

house small

give breath to

house and feed small and necessary
15 Where does the word "like" come from?
Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

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 word gelic, originally any plant, living or artificial
16 What is horticulture?
relating to the art or practice of garden cultivation and management

the razing of a garden

the term for systemic racism

the way culture changes over the course of history
17 What is the last movement of the poem?
"continue to grow" (Line 9)

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

"like converting sunlight into food" (Line 13)

"like being pleasant to touch and smell" (Line 12)
18 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of the poem?
Breath

Honoring a Life

Nature and Connection

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

Contribute to the impact of the final lines

Cause the reader to rush through the reading

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 does not usually write about nature

This poem's metaphors contrast Gay's typical matter-of-factness

Gay uses sensory details in this poem whereas he usually does not
21 On Gay's personal website, what does he say he is interested in studying?
Joy

Horticulture

Poetry

Happiness
22 In Robert Hayden's sonnet, what important comparison is made that is relevant to "A Small Needful Fact?"
Freedom should belong to all

Frederick Douglass is embodied through the practice of liberty

Freedom and liberty are needful to man as air

Liberty is a beautiful dream
23 How was Eric Garner known in his community?
as a storyteller

as a musician

as a peacemaker

as a gardener
24 Which of the following is not true about the poem?
The poem is composed of a single sentence

The poem implicitly deals with Garner's past work

The poem was widely shared across social media

The poem honors a man without trying to sanctify him
25 Which line from Gay's book Be Holding relates to "A Small Needful Fact?"
"for shooting the woman / and the little girl"

“fly some from the overboard”

"but holds them both / in their flight"

"a docent / in the museum of black pain"

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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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