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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. Benjamin said that saves were as unteachable as a what?
(a) Chicken.
(b) Hog.
(c) Brain-damaged child.
(d) Deaf and dumb child.

2. From which room did Nat steal a book?
(a) The library.
(b) The parlor.
(c) The smoking room.
(d) Mr. Turner's bedroom.

3. Moore's farm is next to whose?
(a) Mr. Pemberton's.
(b) Joseph Travis.
(c) Reverend Eppes.
(d) Major Thomas Ridley.

4. Which of Nat's followers was deaf?
(a) Nelson.
(b) Hark.
(c) Nat.
(d) Henry.

5. Who eventually catches Nat with the stolen book?
(a) Nat's mother.
(b) Little Morning.
(c) Samuel Turner.
(d) Abraham.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Marse Samuel propose to Nat when they rode together to Jerusalem?

2. Where does Nat hide the stolen book immediately after taking it?

3. What does Nat do for the first time the Saturday he and Hark are at market?

4. After Benjamin died, who inherited the plantation?

5. What book did Nat steal from the Turner library?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Nat's fast in Part 3, he said there were two events that helped him interpret his vision of the fighting angels as a mandate to kill whites. What were those two events?

2. In Part 2, when Nat baptizes Willis, he feels he's on the brink of great things, that great possibilities in his life are opening up. Yet soon after, his life changes as the slaves and eventually the plantation, including him, are sold. Is it possible that this had an effect on Nat's eventual decision to kill the whites? Why?

3. The story of Hark's escape and eventual return takes up a large section of Part 3. Why might Styron have devoted so much time to this story? What was he trying to show? What do readers learn from Nat's telling of the story?

4. Early in Part 2, the traveling salesman asks Nat to spell a word. This is the second time in the book that a spelling request has frightened Nat. What are some of the reasons Nat gives for his terror?

5. In Part 2, Nat describes two events: "one causing me the bitterest anguish, the other premonitions of joy." What were these two events, and why might they have been told together?

6. In Part 3 when Nat goes on his five-day fast, he begs the Lord to give him a sign and believed the Lord answered his request. What does Nat describe as being the answer to his request of the Lord?

7. When Nat preaches in town in Part 3, he does not use proper English. Why do you think he does that?

8. In Part 2, Nat tells of Little Morning spying on him as a jealous response to the realization that Nat could read. This is the first time Nat tells of a negative reaction to his reading and learning. Why might Little Morning have reacted like this?

9. One of the slaves chained by the drover tells Nat that he's "just like him." Do you think this is true? Why or why not?

10. After Nat spells the word columbine, he lies awake that night thinking about it. He says it's a dream filled with 'inchoate promise'. What does he mean by that? How can one word be a promise?

(see the answer keys)

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