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

2. Moore's farm is next to whose?

3. Which of Nat's followers was deaf?

4. Where does Nat hide the stolen book immediately after taking it?

5. What was the first stop for the initial band of men on the insurrection?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. Nat's vision in Part 3 involves a white angel and a black angel fighting. The black angel wins, casting the white angel down. When Nat questions this vision, he says he received no answer at all "save the answer in my brain." What did he interpret this vision as, and why?

3. The scene with Major Ridley's fiancee is very strong. A northern white woman, newly arrived in town, can't find her way around and can't understand the Negroes speech. According to Nat, she left, never to return. Why might Styron have had her interact with Arnold, an elderly slave who had been freed, but with no education and worse elocution?

4. 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?

5. Early in Part 2, the traveling salesman asks Nat to spell a word. This is the second time in the book that a spelling request has frightened Nat. What are some of the reasons Nat gives for his terror?

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

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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?

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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nat has a revelation in Part 1 when he is called a slave for the first time in his memory. The night seems longer after that, "beyond hope of ending," as Nat says. Describe how Nat's perceptions changed after hearing this. How did his perception of himself change? How did his perception of the world change? Use at least one specific example from the book in your essay.

Essay Topic 2

In Part 1, Samuel Turner discusses things with Nat on his ride to Jerusalem as if Nat were an equal. Yet he refers to Nat in that same discussion as a "darky," a derogatory term. Describe other instances in the book when a white person was being derogatory to a black, but was unaware of this. Are there instances when a white speaks to a black in a derogatory manner and is aware of it? How did whites use their conversations with blacks in various manners in the book, and what result were they expecting? Be sure to use at least one specific example from the book in your discussion.

Essay Topic 3

1. Based on T. R. Gray's address to the public, how impartial do you think Mr. Gray was in recording the confessions of Nat Turner? What specific examples in the text of the "To the Public" section make you think that?

2. How does William Styron's portrayal of Nat and Mr. Gray compare to the "To the Public" section? Do you think Mr. Styron captured the essence of the confessions accurately Do you think Nat truly confessed? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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