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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 does Bynum caution Jeremy that he's doing to Mattie, asking her to move in so soon?

2. Why does Jeremy tell Mattie she should move in with him?

3. Why doesn't Seth want to tell Loomis where Martha is?

4. What does Bynum say a woman can do?

5. What does Loomis say he's waiting on, when Bynum asks him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what it means to "Juba."

2. What warning does Bynum give Mattie Campbell?

3. What does Bertha says Bynum has been doing all morning at the beginning of Act 1, Scene 2?

4. How does Loomis describe his wife to Selig?

5. What does Mattie tell Loomis when he says he needs to find a starting place?

6. How does Loomis act when he first enters in Act 2, Scene 2?

7. What act does Loomis take to free himself and start anew?

8. What is Molly's opinion about Mattie's job?

9. What does Bynum say in defense of Loomis?

10. What does Bynum says "shows what a woman is"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss hope in the story.

1) Why do the freed slaves come north to Pittsburgh? What does Seth think and say about their hope for a new life? How accurate is Seth's opinion?

2) Do the characters have hope during the play? Do any of the characters, such as Loomis, Jeremy, or Mattie, gain hope? What do they hope for?

3) What role does hope play in life and happiness in the play? Is hope helpful or harmful?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the play, there are forces that bind people and forces that tear people apart. Discuss these forces.

1) What types of things bind people to each other and to places and lives in the play? Are these things good or bad, or are some good and some bad? How do negative binding forces (like the chains of slavery) affect the other things that bind people together or to elements of their lives?

2) What types of things tear people apart in the play? Are these things good or bad, or are some good and some bad? What role might tearing apart have in building identity?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss enslavement in the play.

1) What different types of enslavement are there in the play? How is Bynum's binding an enslavement? Is being in a relationship enslaving? Is religion enslaving?

2) In what ways is Loomis still enslaved by his seven years' labor for Joe Turner? What long-term effects does enslavement have on the characters?

(see the answer keys)

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