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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. What is Aunt Chloe's primary responsibility of the plantation?

2. How does Eliza react to business transaction she hears Mr. Shelby talk about with Mr. Haley?

3. Who is Augustine St. Clare?

4. Who is Eliza?

5. Who apparently knows nothing of Mr. Shelby's debt?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the reader learn in Chapters 2 and 3 about Eliza's past as a mother?

2. How is the theme of religion versus politics explored in Chapter 9?

3. What character says, "don't quote the Bible at me that way," and what does this quotation reveal about his character?

4. How does the reader know that Mr. Shelby regards his wife's happiness as important?

5. How does one detect a difference in the manners between Mr. Shelby and Mr. Haley?

6. Why is Uncle Tom's loyalty to his master such a subject of harsh criticism and ridicule?

7. What are the two things in this historical fiction that were real and introduced in Chapter 9?

8. What is it that offers Mrs. Shelby a moment of worry, then relief at the beginning of Chapter 6?

9. In spite of the differences between Tom and Eva's life situation, what character traits do they have in common?

10. What is the author's intent by contrasting Mr. Haley's sole interest in thinking of slaves in terms of their physical strength and how he will be able to resell them and Tom's continued pondering on the Bible and a "pitying Jesus?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Imagery is a powerful literary device. How does the imagery in the descriptions of various homes, such as Tom's cabin, the home of the Quaker family, and the Legree plantation serve to extend the characterization of the people who live in these homes?

Essay Topic 2

One of the necessary components of a tragic hero is that he dies. In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Tom dies. If the reader accepts that Tom is a hero, what other qualities of a hero does Tom exemplify?

Conversely, you may decide that Tom is not a hero. If so, refer to specific incidents or quotations that support your view.

Essay Topic 3

Many of the characters in this novel are representative of qualities that Stowe wants to pit against one another. To that end, contrast the characters of Tom and Legree and discuss what qualities these two characters most embody.

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