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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What kind of flowers is Sarny working on in the flower bed in the beginning of Chapter 2?
(a) Daffodils.
(b) Roses.
(c) Pansies.
(d) Crocuses.

3. How old is Sarny in Chapter 1?
(a) 10.
(b) 15.
(c) 8.
(d) 12.

4. What kind of coin does Sarny describe finding in the dirt in Chapter 2?
(a) A dime.
(b) A nickel.
(c) A quarter.
(d) A penny.

5. What term refers to efforts toward procuring economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchised group?
(a) Eclecticism.
(b) Suffragism.
(c) Abolition.
(d) Emancipation.

6. What word from Chapter 3 refers to a ring or fastening of iron or wood used for securing the wrist, ankle, etc.?
(a) Vestibule.
(b) Promontory.
(c) Shackle.
(d) Chattel.

7. When did Pennsylvania pass legislation to end slavery?
(a) 1885.
(b) 1865.
(c) 1780.
(d) 1799.

8. What sound does Sarny compare John's laughter to in Chapter 3?
(a) A witch's cackle.
(b) A lion's roar.
(c) Distant thunder.
(d) A crow's call.

9. What does Sarny say they pour down the trough in the mornings for the slaves in Chapter 3?
(a) Coffee.
(b) Buttermilk.
(c) Tea.
(d) Oatmeal.

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

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

12. What is Sarny doing when the master arrives with John in Chapter 3?
(a) Changing the babies' diapers.
(b) Cleaning the eating trough.
(c) Feeding the chickens.
(d) Watering the flower garden.

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

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

15. What does John cover in his first "lesson" with Sarny in Chapter 3?
(a) The question mark.
(b) The letter A.
(c) The period.
(d) The number 1.

Short Answer Questions

1. In whose memory is Nightjohn dedicated by the author in the opening pages?

2. Sarny says of Mammy in Chapter 2, "She swore they could hear like cats up to the big house..." What literary device is used in this example?

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

4. What euphemism does Sarny use to describe menstruation in Chapter 1?

5. When did the U.S. Congress outlaw the importation of slaves?

(see the answer keys)

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