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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. Who is the "quadroon" that is the subject of chapter 34 entitled "The Quadroon's Story?"

3. In a heated discussion with Miss Ophelia, what does Mrs. St. Clare say she would have done to Topsy?

4. As Chapter 30 begins, what is the treatment of slaves at a slave warehouse?

5. Whose funeral takes place at the villa on the lake at the end of Chapter 27?

Short Essay Questions

1. As the loose ends of the story are tied up in Chapter 44, what is the purpose of Chapter 45, the final chapter?

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

3. How is Tom's death the epitome of selflessness and forgiveness?

4. What do readers learn about the development of a person from the relationship between Eva and Topsy?

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

6. What purpose does Augustine St. Clare's defense of slavery serve to the reader?

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

8. How does the language of Eliza and George's escape to freedom reflect the mood of this journey--"The blue waves of Lake Erie danced, rippling and sparkling in the sunlight. A fresh breeze blew from the shore, and the lordly boat ploughed her way right gallantly onward."

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

10. How does Miss Ophelia's feelings about "training" Topsy reveal what the problem is for people who attempt to control their servants or slaves with violence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

In keeping with a literary style of her time, Harriet Beecher Stowe speaks frequently and at length directly to the reader. Choose from several instances of direct address in the chapters listed below and use them to defend or praise this stylistic device:

Chapter 12--when the author asks the reader to condemn Mr. Haley is aboard a ship for New Orleans and he discusses slavery.

Chapter 37--when the author asks the reader to imagine what George feels like when he is so close to being free.

Chapter 38--when the author asks the reader to imagine what it feels like for Tom to know he is dying.

Chapter 45--when the author uses the whole chapter to "talk" to reader about what the country must do to abolish slavery.

(see the answer keys)

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