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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Legree's former mistress?

2. In a heated discussion with Miss Ophelia, what does Mrs. St. Clare say she would have done to Topsy?

3. From whom does the reader learn that a black person's testimony as witness in a trial means nothing?

4. In a philosophical and religious discussion with Legree, who is it that explains that what he looks forward to is "eternity?"

5. As Chapter 30 begins, what is the treatment of slaves at a slave warehouse?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in Chapter 38 where Tom is left along often that actually foreshadows Tom's death?

2. Why might Stowe have had the significant black characters who are now free end up going to Africa to do missionary work?

3. How do the physical descriptions of Simon Legree himself and his plantation symbolize his character?

4. Explain how the following passage is foreshadowing: "the rays of the sun formed a kind of glory behind her [Eva], as she came forward in her white dress, with her golden hair and glowing cheeks, her eyes unnaturally bright..."

5. What event triggers the turning point in Augustine's religious beliefs and who is responsible for his religious education here?

6. How does the language of Eliza and George's escape to freedom reflect the mood of this journey--"The blue waves of Lake Erie danced, rippling and sparkling in the sunlight. A fresh breeze blew from the shore, and the lordly boat ploughed her way right gallantly onward."

7. What purpose does Augustine St. Clare's defense of slavery serve to the reader?

8. How does Miss Ophelia's feelings about "training" Topsy reveal what the problem is for people who attempt to control their servants or slaves with violence?

9. As the loose ends of the story are tied up in Chapter 44, what is the purpose of Chapter 45, the final chapter?

10. What does Stowe insist that Northerners do to truly live by their Christian beliefs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel that exposed slavery was written in 1852; the Declaration of Independence written in 1776 declared "all mean are created equal." While the existence of slavery was proof that all men were not created equal, what evidence is there in the novel that all men were, in fact, created equal?

Essay Topic 2

Many of the characters in this novel are representative of qualities that Stowe wants to pit against one another. To that end, contrast the characters of Tom and Legree and discuss what qualities these two characters most embody.

Essay Topic 3

Once Tom is sold to the St. Clare family, he and little Eva St. Clare develop a true friendship.

a. What is the common bond of these two characters?

b. How does their friendship help Stowe's argument that slavery is inherently inhumane?

c. How is it significant that both of these characters die?

(see the answer keys)

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