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. What does John ask Sarny to fetch for him from the barn in Chapter 6?

2. What does Mammy respond when John flirts with her in Chapter 6?

3. What does Master Waller order Mammy to do after he has whipped Alice at the spring house in Chapter 4?

4. Who were the people that captured John after he'd fled?

5. Where did Pawley find a girl he liked, according to Sarny's story in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What causes Master Waller to send Old Delie to the spring house in Chapter 5?

2. How does Waller discover that Sarny is learning to read and write in Chapter 5? How does he react?

3. How does Sarny describe the first day of John's recovery in Chapter 6?

4. How was Pawley's disappearance discovered by Waller, according to Sarny in Chapter 4? Why was Pawley off the plantation?

5. Why do you think it is important for John to teach the slaves to read and write as opposed to teaching them other information?

6. What is foreshadowed by Alice's treatment and abuse from Waller in Chapter 4?

7. What instructions does Mammy give to Sarny while she's at the spring house in Chapter 5?

8. Sarny describes two slaves that she has heard of that ran away from Waller's plantation in Chapter 4. What story is related of Jim's attempted escape?

9. How did Pawley die, according to the story related from Sarny in Chapter 4?

10. What is the significance of Master Waller's public displays of punishment for the slaves in the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Sarny’s growing anxieties when she experiences her first menstrual period in Chapter 7. What does this event signify for Sarny? Why does Sarny hide it, and for how long do you think she will be able to hide it?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the themes of freedom and faith in Nightjohn. What does “freedom” mean to you? Consider yourself in Sarny’s circumstances; how would your experience and perception of freedom differ? What would it mean to have faith in freedom for a slave like Sarny?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the character of Sarny as the protagonist and narrator of Nightjohn. How does Sarny describe her role in the story in Chapter 1? What aspects of Sarny’s character stand out for you as a reader? How old is Sarny’s character when she is first introduced? How does Sarny’s character evolve in the course of the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,002 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample