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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What term does Nat use to describe Hark's marriage to Tiny?
(a) Said three Hail Marys .
(b) Said their vows.
(c) Jumped over the broomstick.
(d) Danced at dawn.

2. What does Nat compare his life as a slave child to?
(a) Colt.
(b) Yearling mule.
(c) Calf.
(d) Trained monkey.

3. What does Nat see in the Northern lady's eyes at the beginning of Part 3 that ignited his hatred?
(a) Anger.
(b) Revulsion.
(c) Pity.
(d) Fear.

4. From which room did Nat steal a book?
(a) The parlor.
(b) Mr. Turner's bedroom.
(c) The library.
(d) The smoking room.

5. Who does Nat befriend in the carpentry shop?
(a) Nathaniel.
(b) Willis.
(c) Lucas.
(d) Goat.

Short Answer Questions

1. Moore's farm is next to whose?

2. How many steps are in Nat's plan to kill the white people?

3. Who eventually catches Nat with the stolen book?

4. Nat's father "ran off" from the Turner household. Why?

5. In Part 3, how many Negroes did Gray say there were in Southampton County?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part 2, Nat talks about Samuel Turner's tampering with a slave's destiny by educating him. Immediately afterward, he talks about what his life might have been like if he had not been the subject of Marse Samuel's "experiment." What do you think of this description of his might-have-been life? Is it something that appeals to him?

2. When Nat imagines his grandmother's thoughts as a captured Coromantee slave girl, he describes Marse Samuel's smile as looking to her like "fiendish smirk." Why would he would describe the kindest master he had in this way?

3. In Part 2, when Nat baptizes Willis, he feels he's on the brink of great things, that great possibilities in his life are opening up. Yet soon after, his life changes as the slaves and eventually the plantation, including him, are sold. Is it possible that this had an effect on Nat's eventual decision to kill the whites? Why?

4. Miss Nell calls Nat "you smart little tar baby" in Part 1. Please explain what is meant by that name, and how it compares to what a white child would be called for the same reason.

5. Why might Part 3 be titled "Study War"? Is it appropriate?

6. One of the slaves chained by the drover tells Nat that he's "just like him." Do you think this is true? Why or why not?

7. After Nat describes his ideas about his grandmother, he switches to describing what he knows about his father--mainly that he ran away, and, at least in Nat's mind, is free now. How does Nat's description of his grandmother differ from his description of his father?

8. Much of Part 2 is taken up with items from Nat's past. Why was so much of the book spent on the early times in Nat's life, rather than on his planning for the rebellion?

9. After Nat's fast in Part 3, he said there were two events that helped him interpret his vision of the fighting angels as a mandate to kill whites. What were those two events?

10. In Part 2, Nat tells of Little Morning spying on him as a jealous response to the realization that Nat could read. This is the first time Nat tells of a negative reaction to his reading and learning. Why might Little Morning have reacted like this?

(see the answer keys)

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