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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. Where is Simon Legree's plantation?

2. What is Mr. Shelby's opinion of Mrs. Shelby's knowledge of business?

3. When a character tries to convince Tom that he should kill Legree, what is the weapon that the person recommends?

4. When Eva is alone in her room, why does Eva cut her hair?

5. What kind of cook is Old Dinah described as?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event triggers the turning point in Augustine's religious beliefs and who is responsible for his religious education here?

2. What does the death of Augustine emphasize about the lives and futures of their slaves?

3. What is the ironic about Emmeline's being brought up "by the Bible?"

4. Why is Cassy a key character in through whom Stowe explores Simon Legree's temperament and treatment of slaves?

5. How do the events on the boat suggest that the novel is nearing a conclusion of a story?

6. What happens in Chapter 38 where Tom is left along often that actually foreshadows Tom's death?

7. What is Mr. Shelby's objection to Mrs. Shelby having taught religion to the slaves?

8. Why might Simon Legree "secretly dislike" Tom and why was it so important for him to get Tom to whip a person?

9. Why might Stowe have had the significant black characters who are now free end up going to Africa to do missionary work?

10. What is ironic about how and why Augustine St. Clare dies?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Harriet Beecher Stowe was a female writer who was vehemently against slavery. Discuss the female characters, both black and white, whom she created to "speak" for her cause and evaluate how effectively Stowe used each of these female characters furthered the thinking against slavery.

Essay Topic 2

The subject of religion, specifically Christianity, abounds in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Discuss how Stowe's characterization of Uncle Tom embodied the principles of Christianity--namely that of faith, forgiveness, compassion, and belief in an afterlife. Refer to specific instances from the novel to illustrate these various components of Christianity.

Essay Topic 3

Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the most enduring American novels of social protest. Evaluate the novel's strength as a tract for social protest by discussing the characterization of Uncle Tom, Eliza and her family of George and Harry, and the slave owners, Mr. Shelby and Simon Legree.

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