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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sarny states at the end of Chapter 2 that she knows the "people in the white house aren't richer" than whom?
(a) God.
(b) The President.
(c) My father.
(d) Mammy.

2. How would you describe Sarny's perception of life outside of the plantation in Chapter 2?
(a) Sarny experienced a brutal life outside the plantation when she was bought by Mr. Waller.
(b) Sarny's experiences outside the plantation have led her to desire freedom.
(c) Sarny views life outside the plantation as harsher than life within the plantation.
(d) Sarny has no knowledge of life outside of the plantation.

3. In whose memory is Nightjohn dedicated by the author in the opening pages?
(a) In Sally Hemings' memory.
(b) In John Brown's memory.
(c) In Harriet Tubman's memory.
(d) In Frederick Douglass's memory.

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

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

6. 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 etches it into the wooden door.
(c) She writes it with a pen and paper.
(d) She scratches it into the tree.

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

8. What refers to the laws in each U.S. state which defined the status of slaves and the rights of masters?
(a) Abolition laws.
(b) Penance practices.
(c) Slave codes.
(d) Masterly rules.

9. What substance does Sarny equate the color of her skin with in Chapter 3?
(a) Sassafras tea.
(b) Molasses.
(c) Coffee.
(d) Brown sugar.

10. Where has Sarny observed people reading prior to meeting John?
(a) In town.
(b) At the slave market.
(c) At church.
(d) In the white house.

11. 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 hid it in the dirt.
(d) She gave it to John.

12. What does Sarny describe Mammy putting her head into in order to pray in Chapter 2?
(a) A burlap sack.
(b) A cooking pot.
(c) A holy veil.
(d) A fireplace.

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

14. 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) Yard work.
(d) Field work.

15. What had Mammy done when Sarny copied the letters from the feed sack in the dirt when she was younger?
(a) She smacked her.
(b) She praised her.
(c) She laughed.
(d) She told Waller.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. How does Sarny describe John's back when he arrives in Chapter 3?

4. Where are the flower beds described that Sarny tends from time to time in Chapter 1?

5. What does John offer to trade with the slaves in the sleeping quarters on his first night in Chapter 3?

(see the answer keys)

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