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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Gray speaks of understanding Nat's mind, what does he say about it?
(a) Nat had sociopathic tendencies and would have killed more people if he hadn't been caught.
(b) Nat had a mental condition and couldn't understand what he was doing.
(c) Nat was trying to grapple with things beyond his mind's reach.
(d) Nat's mind snapped at the thought of being sold again.

2. Who does Trezevant compare Nat to?
(a) Attila the Hun.
(b) Ivan the Terrible.
(c) The Pope.
(d) President Andrew Jackson.

3. In the introduction, what does Gray state Nat's mind "first became"?
(a) Bewildered and confounded.
(b) Upset and confused.
(c) Angry and twisted.
(d) Sad and depressed.

4. What does Gray think should have led the band of slaves to greater efforts?
(a) Anger.
(b) Desperation.
(c) Hope.
(d) Fear.

5. What does Gray attribute the failure of the rebellion to?
(a) The lack of intelligence of the slaves.
(b) The moral deficiency of the Negro character.
(c) Astute observations on the part of the white slaveholders.
(d) Close monitoring of all slave activities.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Nat remember during Gray's speech to the court?

2. What is an insurrection?

3. Nat's mind "finally" became what, according to Gray?

4. What is Nat going to be tried for?

5. In Part One, Nat tells Gray that the Lord told him to confess so that "all nations will know." What was the other reason the Lord gave Nat for confessing?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part 1, Nat says "a white man's discomfiture, observed on the sly, has always been a Negro's richest delight." Is this true? If so, why? If not, why would Nat think such a thing? Either way, what does that quote suggest about Nat?

2. Near the middle of Part 1, Nat says that treating blacks badly will make them "your for life", but treat him nice, and "he will want to slice your throat." What does Nat mean by that?

3. In the Introduction, Gray talks about an "annexed certificate of the County Court of Southampton" to prove the authenticity of Nat's "confession." Yet no one from the court, besides Gray, heard Nat's statements. Why might Gray have included the certificate?

4. Prejudice is "an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought or reason". (Dictionary.com) Do you think Nat displays prejudice toward Gray? Toward whites in general? How? List specific examples from Part 1.

5. Gray tries to calm the fears of the people in Southampton County with his statement that's included in the Introduction. Yet he says "if Nat's statements can be relied upon." Why would he include a statement like this when he's trying to calm people?

6. By the middle of Part 1, readers have met four white people: Gray, Kitchen, Miss Maria Pope, and Jeremiah Cobb. None of them are described positively. Why might that be? Since the book is supposedly written from Nat's point of view, why might he only describe white people (to this point in the book) in negative terms?

7. Nat tells Gray in the Introduction, "I don't think you understand about this business and I don't know but whether it's too late to make it all plain". If Gray took down what Nat said and is reading it back to him, why would Nat think Gray didn't understand?

8. Describe the world that Nat lived in from a slave's perspective. Now describe it from a white person's perspective.

9. What do readers know about Gray from the Introduction? What is implied, or what can be inferred from what Gray says? From this information, what kind of person might Gray be?

10. When Gray addresses the court, he blames "pure Negro cowardice" as a partial reason for the rebellion's failure, but then later in that same paragraph, Gray describes devoted slaves fighting "as bravely as any man" against Nat and his band. Why is he saying these things? Is he trying to confuse the justices?

(see the answer keys)

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