The Great Migration Literature Practice Questions

Correct answer: Native Son

Native Son explores the systemic racism and socioeconomic pressures faced by African Americans who migrated to Northern cities like Chicago. It portrays the 'urban ghetto' as a direct consequence of the failed promises of the North.

Correct answer: The middle section set in Washington, D.C. and Chicago

Cane is structured in three parts; the second part moves from the rural South to the urban North. This transition captures the psychological and cultural shifts experienced by migrants during the early 20th century.

Correct answer: Seeking social status and better opportunities in Boston

The novel depicts the 'Great Migration' to Boston, where the protagonist Cleo Judson is driven by a desire for upward mobility and middle-class stability. It highlights the complexities of class within the migrant community.

Correct answer: Harlem

Also known as 'A Dream Deferred,' this poem addresses the socio-political reality of Harlem after the initial wave of migration. It questions what happens when the promises of the North remain unfulfilled for Black citizens.

Correct answer: New York City

The protagonist’s journey from a Southern college to Harlem, New York, mirrors the classic Great Migration narrative. The city represents a space where he hopes to find identity but instead encounters new forms of invisibility.

Correct answer: Ann Lane Petry

Ann Petry was the first African American woman to sell over a million copies of a novel with 'The Street'. The book provides a grim, naturalistic look at how the urban environment of the North could be as oppressive as the Jim Crow South.

Correct answer: Mississippi

The novel uses flashbacks to explore the characters' lives in Mississippi before they migrated to New York. This structure emphasizes the haunting presence of the Southern past within the Northern present.

Correct answer: The Myth of the North

Many texts explore the 'Myth of the North'—the idea that moving across the Mason-Dixon line would automatically result in freedom and equality. Literature often deconstructs this myth by showing the reality of de facto segregation and economic hardship.

Correct answer: Chicago

Bronzeville was a vibrant African American neighborhood in Chicago that grew significantly during the Great Migration. Brooks’s poetry captures the everyday lives, dignity, and struggles of its residents.

Correct answer: Naxos and Chicago

Helga Crane's journey begins at Naxos (a fictional Southern school) and takes her to Chicago and Harlem. Her inability to find 'home' in either the North or South reflects the psychological displacement of the migration era.

Correct answer: There is Confusion

Fauset’s 'There is Confusion' was one of the first novels to focus on the educated Black middle class that emerged in Northern cities during the migration. It challenged the prevalent 'primitive' stereotypes of the Harlem Renaissance.

Correct answer: Encouraged Southern Blacks to migrate North via editorials

The 'Chicago Defender' was a highly influential Black newspaper that served as a catalyst for the Great Migration. It provided information on jobs and housing, making the North feel accessible and welcoming to Southern readers.

Correct answer: A subterranean space where racial tensions are magnified

The subway is a recurring motif representing the compressed, intense reality of Northern urban life. It serves as a setting where different races and classes are forced into close proximity, often leading to conflict or revelation.

Correct answer: The Piano Lesson

The Piano Lesson centers on a brother and sister in Pittsburgh who argue over whether to sell a family heirloom (a piano). The conflict symbolizes the tension between moving forward in the North and honoring Southern ancestral roots.

Correct answer: An internal diaspora and 'defiant' act of self-determination

Wilkerson’s non-fiction narrative (often studied alongside literature) argues that the migration was a form of seeking political asylum within one's own country. She highlights the individual agency of the millions who left the South.

Correct answer: Mama Lena Younger

Mama Lena Younger represents the generation that moved from the South to the North to provide a better future for their children. Her dream of owning a house with a garden reflects the desire for land and dignity that drove the migration.

Correct answer: The Great Migration and urban shift

Locke argued that the migration of Black people to Northern cities created a 'new' identity characterized by self-assertiveness and cultural pride. This intellectual shift laid the groundwork for the Harlem Renaissance.

Correct answer: Langston Hughes

In this 1934 collection, Hughes uses satire and realism to show that the North was not free of racism. The stories highlight the complex, often hypocritical relationships between the races in an urban setting.

Correct answer: Agricultural collapse driving Southern exodus

The boll weevil infestation destroyed cotton crops across the South in the early 20th century. This economic disaster, combined with Jim Crow violence, acted as a 'push factor' driving families toward Northern industrial cities.

Correct answer: Virginia

The protagonists, Joe and Violet Trace, migrate from Virginia to New York City in 1906. The novel explores how the 'City' transforms the migrants' identities and the music (Jazz) that defines their new urban reality.