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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 must the slaves do whenever someone is punished at the spring house?

2. What does John do on the first night after his punishment from Waller in Chapter 6?

3. What word from Chapter 6 means to limp?

4. What is the first word that Sarny learns to write in Chapter 5?

5. When was the first Fugitive Slave Act implemented in the United States requiring all escaped slaves to be returned to their masters?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Sarny describe the circumstances of the slaves in the beginning of Chapter 5?

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

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

5. How is Alice described in the beginning of Chapter 4? What is Sarny's relationship like with Alice?

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

7. How has the relationship between Mammy and John evolved by Chapter 6?

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

9. What are Sarny's perceptions of Alice's whipping when she witnesses it in Chapter 4?

10. How does Mammy respond when Sarny runs to her at the spring house in Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Discuss the rights, roles, and expectations of women in the 18th and 19th century American South. Examine the responsibilities and roles that a figure such as Margaret Waller would play in her household and plantation. How many “house-slaves” might a family like the Wallers have? What would have been the main contribution of the slave-master’s wife? How did these roles differ for slave women?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the “barter” made between John and Sarny when they first meet. How does bartering or trading relate to the theme of monetary value in the novel? What does Sarny trade with John in order to learn “letters”? What does John gain from the arrangement?

(see the answer keys)

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