View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Gray initially blames Nat's "failure" on the slaves' what?
(a) Drinking.
(b) Not knowing how to handle guns.
(c) Getting scared .
(d) Running off.

2. Nat's father "ran off" from the Turner household. Why?
(a) Because Benjamin Turner hit him.
(b) Because he learned about the North Star.
(c) Because the Underground Railroad came through.
(d) Because another slave threatened to kill him.

3. What book did Nat steal from the Turner library?
(a) The plantation's record book.
(b) The Life and Death of Mr. Badman.
(c) His master's Bible.
(d) A book of maps of the northern states.

4. How did Benjamin die?
(a) He drowned in the swamp.
(b) He fell off a horse and broke his neck.
(c) A tree crushed him.
(d) He got lost and died in the forest.

5. What did Marse Samuel state he couldn't advocate freeing saves without?
(a) Education.
(b) Money to live on.
(c) Paying jobs.
(d) Prejudice.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Gray questions Nat, does Nat say he feels any remorse over the killings?

2. What was Hark best-known for at the Travis farm?

3. Which of Nat's followers was deaf?

4. After five days in the woods with Hark, what happens to Nat?

5. What is a smudge pot used for?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. After Nathaniel Francis forces Will and Sam to fight, Nat feels called to preach for the first time. Why do you think that was the event that brought Nat out in public as a preacher? Quote at least one reason from the book.

3. The story of Hark's escape and eventual return takes up a large section of Part 3. Why might Styron have devoted so much time to this story? What was he trying to show? What do readers learn from Nat's telling of the story?

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

5. In Part 3 when Nat goes on his five-day fast, he begs the Lord to give him a sign and believed the Lord answered his request. What does Nat describe as being the answer to his request of the Lord?

6. 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?

7. 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.

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. When Nat preaches in town in Part 3, he does not use proper English. Why do you think he does that?

10. In Part 2, Nat describes two events: "one causing me the bitterest anguish, the other premonitions of joy." What were these two events, and why might they have been told together?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,083 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample