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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Sarny say that the slaves call the master and mistress when they are in the slave quarters and out of hearing in Chapter 2?
(a) Witches and warlocks.
(b) The kind and queen of the castle.
(c) The perpetrator of evil.
(d) Dog droppings or horse crap.

2. What is the name of Mrs. Waller's sister?
(a) Alice.
(b) Alaine.
(c) Margaret.
(d) Mary.

3. What does John tell Sarny she will have to learn before she can learn to read in Chapter 3?
(a) How to count.
(b) The rules of grammar.
(c) How to be quiet.
(d) The alphabet.

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

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

6. What does Sarny think about when she finally lays down in bed at the end of Chapter 3?
(a) The letter A.
(b) Her father.
(c) Her mother.
(d) Mrs. Waller's dog.

7. What historical figure "owned, raised, and subsequently used" the slave that the novel is dedicated to by the author?
(a) Robert E. Lee.
(b) Theodore Roosevelt.
(c) Benjamin Franklin.
(d) Thomas Jefferson.

8. What European country was the first to engage in the New World slave trade?
(a) Great Britain.
(b) Spain.
(c) France.
(d) Portugal.

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

10. What major theme of the novel emerges in Chapter 3?
(a) Political corruption.
(b) The importance of literacy.
(c) The pain of betrayal.
(d) Longing and forbidden love.

11. How many miles does John say they run him in his first day in Chapter 3?
(a) 5.
(b) 10.
(c) 8.
(d) 20.

12. What does John call out for from the slaves in the sleeping quarters on his first night at the plantation in Chapter 3?
(a) Water.
(b) Extra food.
(c) Whiskey.
(d) Tobacco.

13. Where does Sarny demonstrate the "letters" that she discovered on the feed sack for John in Chapter 3?
(a) She etches it into the wooden door.
(b) She scratches it into the tree.
(c) She writes it with a pen and paper.
(d) She scratches it into the dirt floor.

14. What were the "funny lines" that Sarny recalls seeing on the side of a feed sack in Chapter 3?
(a) $20.
(b) 100 lbs.
(c) FEED.
(d) GRAIN.

15. What kind of work does Sarny say she is not yet old enough to do on the plantation in Chapter 1?
(a) Helping with the young ones.
(b) Gathering eggs.
(c) Field work.
(d) Yard work.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of coin does Sarny describe finding in the dirt in Chapter 2?

2. How would you describe Sarny's perception of life outside of the plantation in Chapter 2?

3. In Chapter 1, Sarny says that some believed she brought Nightjohn to the plantation by what manner?

4. What does Mammy pray for when Sarny witnesses her praying in Chapter 2?

5. How does Sarny describe Mrs. Waller's sister in Chapter 2?

(see the answer keys)

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