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

2. What derogatory name does John refer to Master Waller as when Sarny tells him about Mammy in Chapter 5?

3. What does Waller order John to do when he steps forward and confesses to teaching Sarny in Chapter 5?

4. What description best describes the relationship between Sarny and John in the novel?

5. In the end of Chapter 6, Sarny says that John won't be coming back unless what happens?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

4. What is foreshadowed in Chapter 6? What does the reader expect to happen based on John's actions?

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

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

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

8. What does John teach Sarny in Chapter 6? How does Mammy respond when she observes this exchange?

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

10. How does Master Waller punish John after he has stepped forward in Chapter 5? How does John respond to his punishment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author’s dedication in the beginning of the novel and the lives of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. What was Jefferson’s stance regarding slavery in the U.S.? Why did Gary Paulsen dedicate Nightjohn to the memory of Sally Hemings? Why is Sally Hemings significant in American 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 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?

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