View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the main plant that was in need of constant care by the slaves?

2. How did Frank Cooper realize his Mammy used to be a slave?

3. What was the main lesson that Byrl Anderson learned from his Master?

4. If a slave did not have the correct weigh-in amount, what was the consequence?

5. ____________ was the practice of slave owners which resulted in more children for next generation labor and an easy way to make a profit through sales.

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how the slaves were held in the slave galley of the ships.

2. Describe a typical day for a slave working on a plantation.

3. In Chapter 2, Abraham Lincoln's election to presidency is mentioned. What was a result on the slave trading market?

4. What is the brief story of the slave named Jake from Chapter 5 and what is its significance?

5. Describe what it means to be thrown "in a buck."

6. Discuss the ideas of freedom and death to the slaves.

7. What were some of the reasons that slave owners would sell their slaves?

8. Why did ex-slaves change their names after Emancipation? Was it a valid reason?

9. How were the slaves usually clothed for working out in the fields?

10. What was the overall reaction from the slave owner community once slaves were freed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The very last line in the novel is "...the white folks have been and are now and always will be against the Negro." Discuss what Thomas Hall means when he says this. Has this statement proven to be true throughout the novel? What is the KKK and what was their purpose? How does it relate to Hall's statement? Include any example that you can to support this statement using stories from the novel. How did the treatment of blacks from years ago affect the status of blacks in society today? Does the statement still hold true today? If so, give an example. If not, up until when did it hold true?

Essay Topic 2

There is no doubt that even today, people tend to flock towards others who are similar to themselves. Oftentimes, we find companionship and a sense of camaraderie amongst people who share the same background and ethnicity as ourselves. When Africans were brought to America to be slaves, the blacks supported one another and tried to help one another if they could. They understood and sympathized with the other blacks. Having said this, there were still those blacks who were considered traitors to their own kind. What were some of the betrayals that Julius Lester discusses in his novel? Discuss these stories. Why drove these slaves to side with the whites when the blacks were clearly being wronged? Be sure to include the story of Lev Cheney and discuss house-servants. What was the purpose of house-servants and how does it tie-in with this discussion?

Essay Topic 3

One theme hinted at in the book about why slave trading started is greed. What is greed and how did it express itself within the slave traders and slave owners? How far did greed drive these men and how did it cause them to behave towards blacks? Was it justified or not? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,085 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample