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