A Small Needful Fact Quizzes

A Small Needful Fact Quiz

1 Who wrote "A Small Needful Fact?"

Ross Gay

Ros Guy

Roberto Huyen

Robert Hayden
2 Where was the poem originally published?

Split the Rock Poetry

on Ross Gay's personal website

Be Holding

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
3 What is the form and meter?

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 a single stanza in iambic pentameter.

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?

Plants convert sunlight into food

Garner once worked for the Parks and Rec. Horticultural Department

Garner was forty-three when he died

Garner's life was tragically cut short
5 When was Ross Gay born?

1974

1969

1973

1981
6 How does the poet describe Garner's hands?

calloused

large

gentle

very large
7 How did Eric Garner die?

He died when a police officer shot him

He died after a police officer placed him in a chokehold

He did not die

He passed away from an asthma attack
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?

Amiri Baraka's "An Agony. As Now."

Amiri Baraka's "Frederick Douglass"

Robert Hayden's "Frederick Douglass"

Robert Hayden's "An Agony. As Now."
10 What does Gay speculate that Garner did?

sell cigarettes

attempt to defend himself

keep the peace in his community

put gently into the earth some plants
11 What is relevant about the way Gay writes about Garner?

Gay explicitly protests Garner's death

Gay writes against police brutality

Gay honors Garner's life without attempting to sanctify him

Gay writes about Garner's past job
12 Where does the word "hedge" come from?

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

The plants that often line sidewalks and houses

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of"
13 Which hedging phrases are used in the poem?

"may," "think," and "to some extent"

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

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

"presumably," "so to speak," and "seems"
14 Finish the quote: "continue to do what such plants do, like ___ creatures"

be pleasant and nice-smelling

house small

house and feed small and necessary

give breath to
15 Where does the word "like" come from?

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

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

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of”
16 What is horticulture?

the razing of a garden

relating to the art or practice of garden cultivation and management

the term for systemic racism

the way culture changes over the course of history
17 What is the last movement of the poem?

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

"continue to grow" (Line 9)

"like making it easier / for us to breathe" (Lines 14-15)

"like converting sunlight into food" (Line 13)
18 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of the poem?

Breath

The Glory of Faith

Nature and Connection

Honoring a Life
19 What do the poem's hedging phrases and commas NOT accomplish?

Provide a tone of hesitation

Contribute to the impact of the final lines

Create pauses for breath

Cause the reader to rush through the reading
20 How does the language about nature in this poem contrast from other works by Gay?

Gay does not usually write about nature

This poem's metaphors contrast Gay's typical matter-of-factness

The flat and banal language of this poem contrasts Gay's usual exuberant descriptions

Gay uses sensory details in this poem whereas he usually does not
21 On Gay's personal website, what does he say he is interested in studying?

Joy

Horticulture

Happiness

Poetry
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 storyteller

as a gardener

as a peacemaker

as a musician
24 Which of the following is not true about the poem?

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

The poem honors a man without trying to sanctify him
25 Which line from Gay's book Be Holding relates to "A Small Needful Fact?"

“fly some from the overboard”

"but holds them both / in their flight"

"for shooting the woman / and the little girl"

"a docent / in the museum of black pain"

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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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