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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. Why does Elijah say he thinks Mr. Leroy must be a good listener in chapter 7?

2. What is Elijah told to throw stones at to demonstrate his skills in chapter 10?

3. In what two parts does Elijah separate his chores?

4. What has Elijah's father told him that former slaves carry that other, freeborn people do not?

5. What type of animal does the preacher claim Elijah and Cooter are tracking in chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Elijah use as bait to catch his fish?

2. What is Elijah afraid of? For what reason?

3. Who is Frederick Douglass?

4. What does Elijah imagine as he catches horseflies in the stable?

5. To whom did the preacher try to sell Elijah? For what purpose?

6. What do Cooter and Elijah hide in the knitting belonging to Elijah's mother?

7. Why does Elijah feel as though the entire settlement of Buxton believes him to be fragile?

8. Why do Elijah and his friend, Cooter, begin tracking a snake one afternoon?

9. Who suddenly appears in Buxton with a fancy new gun in chapter 4?

10. Who comes to live in Buxton at the end of chapter 10? For what reason?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is Buxton? Where is it? What is the nature of the community? How was it started? Why did the writer chose to set his novel in this community? What is the history of this area? How does the author use it to develop his plot? How does the author use history to develop his characters?

Essay Topic 2

Who is Mrs. Brown? Why does Elijah mention her? What terrible loss did Mrs. Brown suffer? How does she deal with this loss? How does Elijah feel about this loss? Why does Elijah go to visit Mrs. Brown? How does Elijah compare Mrs. Brown to his own mother? What does this suggest about the community of Buxton?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the preacher to the white slave holder who informs Mrs. Holton of her husband's death. In this comparison list the cruelties each has committed and how they compare to one another, how they impact the people of Buxton and others, and the ways in which they are different. Discuss as well reasons why the author might have felt the need to offers these two representations of such cruelties.

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