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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 is Ridgeway's assistant in the wagon in "Tennessee"?

2. How is Mabel killed?

3. Where does Ridgeway tell Cora that Caesar was killed in "Tennessee"?

4. Who wins the shucking competition in "Indiana"?

5. Who attempts to have sex with Cora in "Tennessee"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is significant about the allusions to Gulliver's Travels in The Underground Railroad?

2. Who are Ridgeway's assistants and how are they described?

3. How did Martin become involved with the Underground Railroad?

4. What does Cora observe about Fiona from the attic in "North Carolina"?

5. How is Valentine farm described? Where is it located?

6. How does Cora make her way outside of the Underground Railroad in "The North"?

7. What does Cora note about the landscape as she crosses through Tennessee?

8. How is the night before the community meeting described in flashback in "Indiana"?

9. What is "Manifest Destiny" and how is it discussed in the novel?

10. Who speaks at the community meeting in "Indiana"? What do they say?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the opening "Reward" notices that appear in certain chapters of The Underground Railroad. Why do you think the author includes these notices? How do the notices serve the story? How do the notices change as the novel progresses?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the themes of sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse in The Underground Railroad. What abuses does Cora experience as a slave? What abuses does she experience after reaching freedom? What symbolism relates to these themes?

(see the answer keys)

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