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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) About $500.
(b) Over $1,000.
(c) About $10,000.
(d) Under $100.

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

3. What does the author assert about the events in the story at the opening of the novel?
(a) The events in the story are satirical.
(b) The events are true except for variation in time and character identification.
(c) The events in the story are purely from the imagination of the author and not based on any historical people.
(d) The events in the story are loosely based on events that occurred in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1861.

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

5. 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 perpetrator of evil.
(c) Dog droppings or horse crap.
(d) The kind and queen of the castle.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Sarny remark about her birth in Chapter 1?

2. What refers to the laws in each U.S. state which defined the status of slaves and the rights of masters?

3. How old was Sarny when her birth mother was sold?

4. When Sarny overhears the mistress of the plantation in Chapter 2, the mistress is complaining that her husband spends too much money buying slaves. What is she concerned that she will not have enough money to purchase due to her husband's overspending?

5. What were the "funny lines" that Sarny recalls seeing on the side of a feed sack in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. What work is Sarny doing on the plantation in the beginning of Chapter 2? How does she feel about this chore?

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

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

4. How does John behave toward the other slaves after his arrival in Chapter 3?

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

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

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

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

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

10. How does Mr. Waller behave toward John as he brings him into the plantation in Chapter 3?

(see the answer keys)

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