View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Sarny describe the financial circumstances of the master's family in Chapter 2?

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

3. Where has Sarny observed people reading prior to meeting John?

4. What does Sarny say is forbidden in the slaves' sleeping quarters in Chapter 3?

5. What does the author assert about the events in the story at the opening of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the trade that John offers to make with Sarny in Chapter 3? How does Sarny feel about the offer?

2. What is significant about the animal imagery that is seen in Chapter 3?

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

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

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

6. What intrigues and inspires Sarny to want to learn to read and write? What risks does she take in doing so?

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

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

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

10. What job or jobs does Sarny do around the plantation in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the narrative style of Nightjohn. Who is the narrator of the story? Is the narrator involved in the action of the narrative? In what tense is the narrative related? Why do you think that the author chose this narrative style? How would the story differ if it were told from a different point of view?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the structure of the narrative plot of Nightjohn. Where in the text do the following occur: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement? How traditionally structured is the plot of the story?

Essay Topic 3

How is slave life described in the novel? List at least five ways in which Waller ensures that his slaves are stripped of their freedom. Which seems most invasive to you? Why? What freedom(s) would you most miss if you lost your freedoms today?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,011 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample