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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. Who does Skiffington believe is behind the disappearances of Alice, Priscilla, and Jamie?

2. Who claims to be sick the following day and unable to work in the fields as ordered?

3. Who suggests to Caldonia that she buy insurance to cover her slaves?

4. Who decides to buy Jebediah when it is learned that he forged his freedom papers and is to return to his original owner?

5. Who is Ray Topps?

Short Essay Questions

1. What object will Tessie, Elias' daughter, ask her children and grandchildren to find for her on her death bed?

2. Who comes to Manchester County and takes a job as a deputy with the sheriff's office? Why?

3. How is Augustus killed?

4. As Skiffington begins to investigate the disappearance of Moses' family and Alice, what does he begin to suspect?

5. What happens to Celeste that causes many of the slaves and Caldonia to begin questioning their faith in Moses?

6. Why does Saskia Wilhelm's husband force her into prostitution? Where does Saskia end up?

7. Who does Caldonia put in charge of the slaves after Moses runs away?

8. Why does Moses force Celeste to work in the fields even though she claims to be sick?

9. How does Mildred get killed?

10. What does Counsel find in Mildred's house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the treatment of slaves in this novel. Who treated the slaves worse, the white plantation owners, the white lawmen, the black slave owners, or the slave overseers? What are the differences between the various treatment of the slaves? Who thought they treated the slaves better? Did they? Why or why not? Is it possible to treat a slave kindly? Should slaves have been freed by their black owners? Is it more morally corrupt for a freed slave to own a slave than a white man who has always been free? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Counsel Skiffington. Who is Counsel? What happens to Counsel's family? Where does Counsel go after this? Why? What happens to Counsel on his journey? What is unusual about these events? How does Counsel respond? Where does Counsel eventually settle? Why? How does Counsel perform at his new job? Is his reaction to pleas for help from the black community favorable? How does this reaction reflect Counsel's personal opinion of blacks? Why does Counsel kill his cousin?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following, citing references from the book:

1) Religious morality versus extramarital affairs.

2) The morality of the slaves versus the morality of the slave owners.

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