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

Short Answer Questions

1. What historical figure "owned, raised, and subsequently used" the slave that the novel is dedicated to by the author?

2. What is the name of Mrs. Waller's sister?

3. What substance does Sarny equate the color of her skin with in Chapter 3?

4. What word used in Chapter 3 refers to the process of preparing corn for eating?

5. What kind of flowers is Sarny working on in the flower bed in the beginning of Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What was Mammy's response when she discovered Sarny copying the symbols from the grain sack into the dirt when she was a child? Why did she react in this manner?

5. How would you describe the dialect and language style established in Chapter 1?

6. What does Sarny describe thinking about as the others sleep in the slave quarters at night in Chapter 1?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the history, formation, and influences of pit schools in the American South during the era of slavery. What impact do you think that these schools had on the abolition of slavery in the United States? Why is it important to understand this history?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the character of Clel Waller in Nightjohn. How old is Clel Waller? How would you describe Sarny’s opinions of Master Waller? How do the other slaves feel about the master? How does Waller’s character evolve in the course of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the language style of Nightjohn. How would you describe the dialect of Sarny’s narrative? How does John’s dialect differ from Sarny’s? How is it similar? How does the language style of the novel help the reader to connect with its themes?

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