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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. After they get the letter from Tom, what does Aunt Chloe ask Mrs. Shelby to write for her?

2. Who comes to visit the St. Clare family during the summer at Lake Pontchartrain?

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

4. When George, Eliza and Harry finally reach Canada, what is the name of the Canadian town where the boat they are on docks?

5. When Aunt Chloe gets a letter from Tom, what issue does it raise in the Shelby household?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. Explain how the following passage is foreshadowing: "the rays of the sun formed a kind of glory behind her [Eva], as she came forward in her white dress, with her golden hair and glowing cheeks, her eyes unnaturally bright..."

7. What are the similarities between Aunt Chloe And Mrs. Shelby which are emphasized?

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

9. 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."

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While the author is writing to protest and put an end to slavery, she was writing for a significant portion of the population that believed slavery was necessary to their economy. On a very basic level, she had to show what was evil about slavery. What situations did she create to most effectively show the evils of slavery? To discuss this, review the treatments of specific slaves in specific incidents such as Tom, Eliza, George, Aunt Chloe, Emmeline, and Topsy.

Essay Topic 2

Once Tom is sold to the St. Clare family, he and little Eva St. Clare develop a true friendship.

a. What is the common bond of these two characters?

b. How does their friendship help Stowe's argument that slavery is inherently inhumane?

c. How is it significant that both of these characters die?

Essay Topic 3

Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel that exposed slavery was written in 1852; the Declaration of Independence written in 1776 declared "all mean are created equal." While the existence of slavery was proof that all men were not created equal, what evidence is there in the novel that all men were, in fact, created equal?

(see the answer keys)

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