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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. By current estimates, approximately how many Africans were shipped across the Atlantic during the slave trade?
(a) 5 million.
(b) 7 million.
(c) 20 million.
(d) 12 million.

2. What does Sarny enjoy doing every evening after the slaves eat?
(a) Singing songs that she learned in church.
(b) Playing a harmonica that she found in town.
(c) Drawing pictures in the sand in the chicken shed.
(d) Laying in bed thinking about what she's learned.

3. What does the author assert about the events in the story at the opening of the novel?
(a) The events are true except for variation in time and character identification.
(b) The events in the story are loosely based on events that occurred in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1861.
(c) The events in the story are purely from the imagination of the author and not based on any historical people.
(d) The events in the story are satirical.

4. In what century was the Atlantic slave established?
(a) The 18th century.
(b) The 15th century.
(c) The 17th century.
(d) The 16th century.

5. From what device do Sarny and the other slaves eat their meals at the plantation?
(a) From a trough.
(b) From a grill.
(c) From a cauldron.
(d) From a long table.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of work does Sarny say she is not yet old enough to do on the plantation in Chapter 1?

2. Where does Sarny say she was when she first heard about Nightjohn in Chapter 1?

3. What is the name of the slave that raises Sarny?

4. Mammy says in Chapter 1 that Sarny's mother sold for the value of how many field hands?

5. How does Mammy notate the ages of the slave children that she raises?

(see the answer key)

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