1 What was the author’s role in the Vietnam War? A soldier in the army A war correspondent for a military newspaper A civilian critic A war correspondent for a major newspaper 2 Which two major historical events most shaped the author as a young man? The Vietnam War and the Cold War The Korean War and American counterculture The civil rights movement and the Cold War The Vietnam War and the civil rights movement 3 Which book first brought Yusef Komunyakaa critical acclaim? Talking Dirty to the Gods (2000) Neon Vernacular (1993) The Pleasure Dome (2001) Dien Cai Dau (1988) 4 Which 21-year-old artist designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial? Laura Ann Jacobs Maya Lin Anne Chu Raymond Persinger 5 Which is an example of a metaphor? I’m stone. I’m flesh. A red bird’s / wings cutting across my stare My clouded reflection eyes me / like a bird of prey. Half-expecting to find / my own in letters like smoke 6 Which is an example of a simile? My clouded reflection eyes me / like a bird of prey. I see the booby trap’s white flash. I turn / this way—the stone lets me go. In the black mirror / a woman’s trying to erase names. 7 Who is the name “Andrew Johnson” in reference to? A former president Neither option A dead soldier Potentially both options 8 What is the significance of the number 58,022? Neither option The total number of American and Vietnamese casualties of the Vietnam War The known number of American soldiers dead or missing from the Vietnam War at one point in the 1980s Both options 9 Which is an example of assonance in the poem? My black face fades I’m stone. I’m flesh. Letters like smoke Granite / dammit 10 What is a metonym? a phrase in which several words in a row begin with the same letter the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds, like “granite” and “dammit” a word used to stand in for another, closely related word, like "the crown" as substitute for a monarch or monarchy a true statement which seems self-contradictory 11 What is alliteration? when a true statement seems self-contradictory when a word is used to stand in for another, closely related word, like "the crown" as substitute for a monarch or monarchy when phrase has several words in a row beginning with the same letter when different words repeat the same or similar vowel sounds, like “granite” and “dammit” 12 What is assonance? when different words repeat the same or similar vowel sounds, like “granite” and “dammit” when a true statement seems self-contradictory when a phrase has several words in a row beginning with the same letter when a word is used to stand in for another, closely related word, like "the crown" as substitute for a monarch or monarchy 13 What does the memorial wall in this poem most often operate as a metonym for? The subjectivity of memory The impact of the war American racial politics The importance of history 14 Which of the following definitions of the word “reflection” is NOT at play in the poem? consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose the production of an image by or as if by a mirror an often obscure or indirect criticism a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation 15 Which color, with all its symbolic associations, is NOT prominent in this poem’s visual landscape? black white red yelllow 16 Which character does Andrew Johnson most stand in contrast to in the poem? The woman trying to erase names The speaker/author The woman with names on her blouse The white vet 17 Which metaphor is NOT present in this poem? I’m a mirror. I’m a window. I’m flesh. I’m stone. 18 Regarding the speaker’s memory of “the booby trap’s white flash”: how many American casualties in the Vietnam War were caused by landmines and booby traps? 50% 5% Over 50% 25% 19 Approximately how many Vietnamese soldiers and civilians died in the Vietnam War? 1,000,000 58,000 580,000 2,000,000 20 Approximately how many more Vietnamese people have died from encountering the war’s leftover landmines since 1975? 40,000 20,000 10,000 30,000 21 Who or what was Agent Orange in the Vietnam War? An undercover Northern Vietnamese operative in the American army An undercover American operative in the Liberation Army of South Vietnam A toxic herbicide used by American forces to destroy Vietnamese forests and crops, causing illness in millions of people The code name of an American Air Force base 22 Which idea or ideas are communicated through the changing and combining reflections in the memorial wall? The vulnerability of the body The connectivity of past and present All of the answers The fleetingness of time 23 Where did the author grow up? Bogalusa, Louisiana Nashville, Tennessee Sacramento, California Brooklyn, New York 24 What is a possible interpretation of “the profile of night / slanted against morning?” The black granite memorial stands out against the lighter sky behind it His dark skin stands out against the lighter sky behind him Neither option Both options 25 What is a possible interpretation of "letters like smoke"? The letters are the greyish color of smoke The names on the wall remind him of the smoke and gunfire of wartime Any or all of the answers The letters are ephemeral like smoke