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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How much money does Mrs. Waller say that her husband just spent on a new hand in Chapter 2?
(a) Under $100.
(b) About $10,000.
(c) About $500.
(d) Over $1,000.

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?
(a) Simile.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Alliteration.
(d) Onomatopoeia.

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

4. What does Sarny remark about her birth in Chapter 1?
(a) She was born blind.
(b) She was born premature.
(c) She was born deaf.
(d) She came out backwards.

5. Why does Mammy pray in the manner that she does?
(a) She is worshiping African deities.
(b) Slaves are forbidden to pray.
(c) She is practicing witchcraft.
(d) She is Muslim.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what century was the Atlantic slave established?

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

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

4. What has caused some of the leaves to fall off of the flowers that Sarny is tending in the flower garden in Chapter 2?

5. Where does Sarny demonstrate the "letters" that she discovered on the feed sack for John in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is foreshadowed by Sarny's description of the penny that she once found in Chapter 2?

2. How is Sarny's relationship with Mammy illustrated in Chapter 1? How does Mammy feel about the other children she cares for?

3. Why were slaves forbidden education historically? How is this depicted in the novel?

4. How is Sarny's character introduced to the reader in Chapter 1? What does Sarny say brought Nightjohn to her?

5. When is the first time that Sarny describes hearing the word "free" in Chapter 2? What were her perceptions of this word?

6. How does Sarny describe the process of meals for the slaves at the plantation in Chapter 3?

7. How does Sarny describe Mammy's method of praying in Chapter 2? Why does Mammy pray this way?

8. What imagery and/or symbolism is used in describing the slaves on the plantation in Chapter 2?

9. What does Sarny overhear from the white house while she works in Chapter 2?

10. How would you describe the tone and mood of the novel as established in Chapter 1?

(see the answer keys)

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