1. Is Nightjohn and Sarny's relationship a typical student/teacher relationship? How does the circumstance of slavery affect the relationship?

2. What is the effect on readers of Paulsen entitling the last chapter but not the others?

3. Does the slave community regard Nightjohn's escape as a victory for themselves?

4. Would Sarny's future have been as hopeful if Nightjohn did not enter her life?

5. When a writer writes historical fiction, it is generally because he sees a connection between the present and the past and senses society has lost something important from the past that it must regain. What is Paulsen trying to remind his audience of?

6. Regarding Nightjohn, one student commented to her instructor, "I hated this book. Thank you for making me read it." Why is it important to read books that make readers feel uncomfortable as well as interested?

7. Both Sarny and Nightjohn are...