Question

In paragraph 7 of “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” Hughes suggests that Negro artists are given the message that their art should be _____.
illusory
serious
expensive
superficial

Answer 1

The answer is serious

Answer 2

Answer: Superficial

In "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," Hughes considers "serious" black artists to lack real encouragement. He argues that authors who have tried to make deep, complex art are either ignored or treated like an anomaly ("A colored man writing poetry! How odd! How amusing!). This means that their art is always encouraged to be superficial, and when it is not, they face little prospects of success.