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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. Where does Ned go to collect building materials in “Assassination”?

2. Why does the Klan show up at Jane's doorway in “Ned Leaves Home”?

3. What does Ned say he is doing in Kansas when he writes to Jane in “Two Letters from Kansas”?

4. Where does the majority of the acton take place in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman?

5. Where does Ned's family go after his death in “The People”?

Short Essay Questions

1. What has arisen to cause Jane concern and worry in "A Dollar for Two"?

2. How would you describe the language style of Jane's narrative in the novel?

3. How does irony apply to Joe's death in "Man's Way"?

4. What physical conflict involves Jane in "Heading North"? What brings about this conflict?

5. Why does Jane tell the white woman in "Heading South" that she won't return to her home plantation? How does the woman reply?

6. How is the narrator influenced by Miss Jane Pittman's funeral in the Introduction?

7. What is symbolized through Jane's actions in "Man's Way"?

8. What does Madame Gautier remark regarding masculinity in "Man's Way"?

9. How does the government investigator help Jane and Ned after getting them across the river in “Shelter for a Night”?

10. What transition takes place in the narrative structure in Book 2: Reconstruction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the setting of the Bone Plantation. Who oversees the plantation? How are the conditions at this plantation, as compared to Jane's experiences prior to Emancipation? What eventually leads many of the blacks to flee Bone Plantation?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of sacrifice in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. What characters in the novel make sacrifices? What are the impacts of those sacrifices? How does the author support this theme through symbolism and imagery?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the genre and the narrative style of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. From whose perspective is the story related? Is the book fiction or nonfiction? Why do you think the author chose to narrate the story in this manner?

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