A Small Needful Fact Quizzes

A Small Needful Fact Quiz

1 Who wrote "A Small Needful Fact?"
Ross Gay

Robert Hayden

Roberto Huyen

Ros Guy
2 Where was the poem originally published?
Split the Rock Poetry

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

Be Holding

on Ross Gay's personal website
3 What is the form and meter?
The fifteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza in iambic pentameter.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.

The fourteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in two stanzas with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.
4 What is the "fact" mentioned in the poem's title?
Garner's life was tragically cut short

Garner once worked for the Parks and Rec. Horticultural Department

Plants convert sunlight into food

Garner was forty-three when he died
5 When was Ross Gay born?
1981

1973

1974

1969
6 How does the poet describe Garner's hands?
gentle

very large

calloused

large
7 How did Eric Garner die?
He died after a police officer placed him in a chokehold

He died when a police officer shot him

He passed away from an asthma attack

He did not die
8 What words became part of a national movement?
Let my people go

I can't breathe

Let me go

Give me freedom
9 Which poem is "A Small Needful Fact" in conversation with?
Robert Hayden's "An Agony. As Now."

Amiri Baraka's "Frederick Douglass"

Robert Hayden's "Frederick Douglass"

Amiri Baraka's "An Agony. As Now."
10 What does Gay speculate that Garner did?
sell cigarettes

put gently into the earth some plants

attempt to defend himself

keep the peace in his community
11 What is relevant about the way Gay writes about Garner?
Gay explicitly protests Garner's death

Gay writes against police brutality

Gay writes about Garner's past job

Gay honors Garner's life without attempting to sanctify him
12 Where does the word "hedge" come from?
The plants that often line sidewalks and houses

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of"

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial
13 Which hedging phrases are used in the poem?
"presumably," "so to speak," and "seems"

"It is clear that" and "it has been suggested"

"perhaps," "in all likelihood," and "most likely"

"may," "think," and "to some extent"
14 Finish the quote: "continue to do what such plants do, like ___ creatures"
house small

house and feed small and necessary

give breath to

be pleasant and nice-smelling
15 Where does the word "like" come from?
Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of”

Old English word gelic, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial
16 What is horticulture?
the term for systemic racism

the razing of a garden

relating to the art or practice of garden cultivation and management

the way culture changes over the course of history
17 What is the last movement of the poem?
"continue to grow" (Line 9)

"like converting sunlight into food" (Line 13)

"like being pleasant to touch and smell" (Line 12)

"like making it easier / for us to breathe" (Lines 14-15)
18 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of the poem?
Nature and Connection

The Glory of Faith

Honoring a Life

Breath
19 What do the poem's hedging phrases and commas NOT accomplish?
Create pauses for breath

Contribute to the impact of the final lines

Provide a tone of hesitation

Cause the reader to rush through the reading
20 How does the language about nature in this poem contrast from other works by Gay?
The flat and banal language of this poem contrasts Gay's usual exuberant descriptions

Gay does not usually write about nature

Gay uses sensory details in this poem whereas he usually does not

This poem's metaphors contrast Gay's typical matter-of-factness
21 On Gay's personal website, what does he say he is interested in studying?
Horticulture

Happiness

Poetry

Joy
22 In Robert Hayden's sonnet, what important comparison is made that is relevant to "A Small Needful Fact?"
Freedom and liberty are needful to man as air

Frederick Douglass is embodied through the practice of liberty

Liberty is a beautiful dream

Freedom should belong to all
23 How was Eric Garner known in his community?
as a peacemaker

as a gardener

as a storyteller

as a musician
24 Which of the following is not true about the poem?
The poem honors a man without trying to sanctify him

The poem is composed of a single sentence

The poem was widely shared across social media

The poem implicitly deals with Garner's past work
25 Which line from Gay's book Be Holding relates to "A Small Needful Fact?"
"a docent / in the museum of black pain"

"for shooting the woman / and the little girl"

"but holds them both / in their flight"

“fly some from the overboard”

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Study Guide for A Small Needful Fact

A Small Needful Fact study guide contains a biography of Ross Gay, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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