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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. What term refers to the movement to end slavery?
(a) Suffragism.
(b) Calvinism.
(c) Abolitionism.
(d) Humanism.

2. 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 loosely based on events that occurred in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1861.
(d) The events in the story are purely from the imagination of the author and not based on any historical people.

3. 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) Slave codes.
(c) Masterly rules.
(d) Penance practices.

4. What does Sarny say is forbidden in the slaves' sleeping quarters in Chapter 3?
(a) Water.
(b) Beds.
(c) Food.
(d) Light.

5. What euphemism does Sarny use to describe menstruation in Chapter 1?
(a) Womanhood.
(b) The trouble.
(c) The spots.
(d) Aunt Mary.

Short Answer Questions

1. From what device do Sarny and the other slaves eat their meals at the plantation?

2. How would you describe the treatment of the slaves on Waller's plantation?

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

4. How old is Sarny in Chapter 1?

5. Where does Sarny say she was when she first heard about Nightjohn in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does the author describe the regulations and rules regarding slaves and religion in Chapter 2?

4. How does the author illustrate Sarny's only encounter with money in Chapter 2?

5. How is John's appearance described when he first arrives at the plantation in Chapter 3?

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

7. How is Sarny's birth and early childhood described in Chapter 1? Are Sarny's experiences common for slaves at this time?

8. What does Mammy measure on the sticks that she keeps for each child on the plantation? Why?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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