Study Questions
1. Where does the yam seller guess the narrator is from?

2. Does the narrator say if he is from that place?

3. What is the crowd doing at the eviction?

4. Of the items the narrator describes coming out of a drawer, which is the oldest and most important?

5. Why does the old woman want to go back into her home for the last time?

6. What does the narrator first say that the people must do?

7. Does the crowd withhold its violence, as the narrator urges them to do?

8. What does the narrator do when police reinforcements arrive?

9. What is the narrator thinking about when the mysterious white man finds him?

10. What new food does the narrator eat in the cafeteria?

Answers
1. The yam seller guesses that the narrator is from South Carolina.

2. The narrator does not say whether or not he is from South Carolina.

3. The crowd at the eviction is silently watching the white men, wanting to attack them.

4. Of all the objects the narrator describes coming out of the drawer, the oldest and most important are the “FREE PAPERS” of Primus Provo, signed by owner John Samuels in August, 1859.

5. The old woman wants to go back into her home for one last time in order to pray.

6. The narrator first says that the people must organize.

7. No, the crowd does not withhold its violence, as the narrator urges them to do. They charge up the stairs and beat up the policemen.

8. The narrator escapes over the rooftops when the police reinforcements arrive.

9. The narrator is thinking about a baby just being born when the mysterious white man finds him.

10. The narrator eats cheesecake, which he never heard of before, in the cafeteria.