New Orleans by Joy Harjo - Selection Test

In lines 14–20, the speaker most likely suggests that —

• A) buildings and land can retain remembrance of powerful and painful occurrences

• B) the shop is filled with materials her ancestors and their conquerors left behind

• C) the building is constructed of red bricks that were made from the blessed land

• D) people living in the modern city have no memory of the buildings first built on the land

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The speaker’s use of repetition in lines 29–30 emphasizes —

• the idea that the river and New Orleans are a mystical starting point to understanding her history

• the notion that the river will continue to flow from New Orleans long after she and others are gone

• the understanding that the Creek people still have a legal claim to the city and river

• the illusion the speaker hangs on to about her own history and that of DeSoto

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Which statement best describes the effect of the figurative language in lines 32–36 of the poem?

• it highlights the rapid growth of New Orleans

• it emphasizes the rich history of New Orleans

• it underscores the natural beauty of New Orleans

• it stresses the popularity of New Orleans

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The speaker’s use of words such as destroy and buried contributes to an overall mood that is best described as —

• wondrous

• haunting

• oppressive

• uplifting

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This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B. Part A Which statement best expresses a central theme of the poem?

• A) Historical figures are rarely as important as people make them out to be.

• B) Cities provide insight into the shared history of the location where they were built.

• C) Individuals who devote a lot of time to understanding a culture’s past become paralyzed by it.

• D) Learning about a culture’s past can shape the individual’s experience of the present.

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This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B. Part B Which excerpt from the poem best supports the answer to Part A?

• ... I see a blue horse / caught frozen in stone in the middle of / a square. ... (lines 5–7)

• Nearby is a shop with ivory and knives. / There are red rocks. ... (lines 14–15)

• Maybe his body is what I am looking for / as evidence. To know in another way / that my memory is alive. (lines 58–60)

• And I know I have seen DeSoto, / having a drink on Bourbon Street, / mad and crazy / dancing with a woman as gold / as the river bottom. (lines 68–72)

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From the poem, the reader can most reasonably infer that the Creek people —

• live in many of the buildings the speaker visits

• prevented DeSoto from entering the city

• welcomed DeSoto when he arrived at the city

• inhabit the city in a spiritual way for the speaker

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Which quote from the poem conveys the theme that people connect to the tragedies of the past by feeling a sense of loss in the present?

• There are ancestors and future children / buried beneath the currents stirred up by / pleasure boats going up and down. (lines 33–35)

• And knew he was one of the ones who yearned / for something his heart wasn’t big enough / to handle. (lines 47–49)

• The Creeks knew it, and drowned him in / the Mississippi River / so he wouldn’t have to drown himself. (lines 55–57)

• And I know I have seen DeSoto, / having a drink on Bourbon Street, / mad and crazy . . . (lines 68–70)

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Which statement best describes what New Orleans means to the speaker?

• New Orleans is the most important city in the history of the European exploration of North America.

• New Orleans is a reminder of how greed drove colonial expansion and resulted in tragedy for the Creeks.

• New Orleans represents all cities in America founded at the expense of the Creeks and other Native peoples.

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New Orleans is an example of how a place can overcome a tragic past and become a center of wealth.

• True

• False

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