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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. When Moore meets Isham on the road, what does Isham do?

2. How many people were killed at the first location in the insurrection?

3. Who eventually catches Nat with the stolen book?

4. What did Marse Samuel state he couldn't advocate freeing saves without?

5. What happened when Nat and Willis went to the creek together?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. 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.

5. When Nat talks with Mrs. Whitehead in Part 3 after tracing the map, she alternately praises him and treats him as property, stating that she'd offered one thousand dollars for him. How did that make Nat feel?

6. As the book progresses, the descriptions of white slave owners grow worse and worse, until we reach Nathaniel Francis, introduced in Part 3. Why did Styron make each owner he described, whether the owner of Nat or other slaves, an uglier, meaner character than the one before?

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

9. 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?

10. 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.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The weather is used as almost as its own character throughout the book, as it helps set the tone and mood of many scenes. Describe at least two scenes from the book where the weather plays a part, and analyze how you think the weather has an effect on the characters and/or story.

Essay Topic 2

In Part 2, when Nat observes the interaction of Arnold and Major Ridley's fiancee, we see the first mention of sexual yearning on Nat's part for a woman--and in this case, a white woman. Yet it's not a yearning of love. In fact, Nat's imagery at this point is very violent. Why do you think Styron wrote the scene this way? Describe another way he could have written the scene. How would it have been different if it had been written the way you described? What different points, if any, would have been made with the other method?

Essay Topic 3

How does Nat feel about T. R. Gray at the beginning of the book? Does he feel the same way at the end? How can you tell? Cite specific examples from the text. How does that compare to how Nat feels about other white people throughout the book?

(see the answer keys)

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