1. Why does mammy say Sarny's birth mother was sold in Chapter 1?
(a) She was a good cotton-picker.
(b) She was a good midwife.
(c) She was a good breeder.
(d) She was a good house maid.

2. What is foreshadowed by Sarny's story about finding the coin in the dirt in Chapter 2?
(a) Sarny's education.
(b) Sarny's eventual wealth.
(c) Sarny's death.
(d) Sarny's marriage.

3. How does Sarny describe John's back when he arrives in Chapter 3?
(a) It is covered in scars.
(b) It is milky white.
(c) It is black and smooth.
(d) It is proud beneath his shirt.

4. "Partus sequitur ventrem" was a legal doctrine adopted widely into the laws of slavery in the American colonies. What did this law dictate?
(a) That slaves were forbidden from reading and writing.
(b) That slaves be forbidden from attending church.
(c) That escaped slaves must be returned to their master.
(d) That the child of a slave was a slave.

5. What did Sarny do with the coin that she found after showing it to Mammy?
(a) She swallowed it.
(b) She gave it to Mr. Waller.
(c) She gave it to John.
(d) She hid it in the dirt.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year did the United States Congress pass a Slave Trade Act which prohibited the building or outfitting of ships in the U.S. for use in the slave trade?

2. What does Sarny think about when she finally lays down in bed at the end of Chapter 3?

3. What material does Mammy make John's pants from in Chapter 3?

4. In what century was the Atlantic slave established?

5. What does Sarny say is forbidden in the slaves' sleeping quarters in Chapter 3?

(see the answer key)

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