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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. How old is the "negro girl" that is being sought on the reward poster in the opening of "South Carolina"?

2. Who invited Stevens to begin grave-robbing with him?

3. What is the date on the reward poster that opens "South Carolina"?

4. In a line from "North Carolina," the narrator says, "The only way to know how long you are lost in the darkness is" what?

5. What is the first room where Cora works at the museum in "South Carolina"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Cora's experience at the new hospital in South Carolina described?

2. How does Cora come to feel about her mother as the novel progresses?

3. How are the motifs of darkness and light explored in "North Carolina"?

4. Who is Mr. Lumbly and how is his home described?

5. What does Cora find when she arrives at the next station in "North Carolina"?

6. How is the "Underground Railroad" itself presented in the novel?

7. Why does the author introduce certain chapters in the novel with "Reward" postings?

8. Who is Bessie and how is she described in "South Carolina"?

9. What do Cora and Caesar discuss when they first meet at the social in "South Carolina"?

10. What does Ajarry's garden plot mean to Cora?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the character of Fiona in The Underground Railroad. Where does Fiona work? What does she do? How do Fiona's actions impact the plot of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the portrayal of the Underground Railroad in the novel. Why do you think the author has chosen to present the Underground Railroad as a literal railroad? How does this presentation alter history? How is the railroad accessed by the escaping slaves?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's use of irony in The Underground Railroad. What are examples of verbal irony used in the novel? What are examples of dramatic and situational irony? What purpose do these examples serve to the story?

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