Anticipating the Future through Texts: Visions — Cumulative exam
Question 36 • Hopkins FA American Literature (2026-2027)
Read the excerpt from Richard Wright’s Black Boy.“Mama, I’m hungry,” I complained one afternoon.“Jump up and catch a kungry,” she said, trying to make me laugh and forget.“What’s a kungry?”“It’s what little boys eat when they get hungry,” she said.“What does it taste like?”“I don’t know.”“Then why do you tell me to catch one?”“Because you said that you were hungry,” she said, smiling.Which best describes how Wright effectively conveys his personal experience?
Answer
A
The dialogue illustrates his mother’s efforts to lighten his mood.
B
The dialogue suggests his mother’s indifference about his trouble.
C
The dialogue shows that Wright has a clever sense of humor.
D
The dialogue proves that his mother is frustrated with the situation.
Explanation
Wright uses the exchange between himself and his mother to show her responding playfully when he says he is hungry. Her invented “kungry” is meant to make him laugh and forget his hunger, and the excerpt says she is smiling. This best supports choice A, that the dialogue illustrates his mother’s efforts to lighten his mood.
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