The Known World | Teaching Setting, Symbolism and Objects

Object Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major objects in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Objects

Manchester County, Virginia - The setting of most of the novel, this place is heavily wooded, prosperous, and largely crime free. Spreading out around the dusty, vaguely described area are plantations, most prominently those of rivals William Robbins and Robert Colfax, who largely determine who will serve as sheriff.

The Townsend Plantation - Henry's death leaves widow, Caldonia, substantial cotton fields, a slave quarter, a still little-used cemetery, and the fine two-story house he and slave Moses built. The Robbins plantation neighbors it, separated by several miles of dense woods.

A Child's Dream...
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