View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Gray questions Nat, does Nat say he feels any remorse over the killings?

2. Why do Marse Sam and the traveling salesman go out to the veranda?

3. Who tries to take over the insurrection from Nat?

4. What does Nat see as a good omen right before he returns to the farm from his "sanctuary" after revealing his plans to his core group of followers?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. In Part 2, Nat talks about Samuel Turner's tampering with a slave's destiny by educating him. Immediately afterward, he talks about what his life might have been like if he had not been the subject of Marse Samuel's "experiment." What do you think of this description of his might-have-been life? Is it something that appeals to him?

4. 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?

5. Miss Nell calls Nat "you smart little tar baby" in Part 1. Please explain what is meant by that name, and how it compares to what a white child would be called for the same reason.

6. 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?

7. Why might Part 3 be titled "Study War"? Is it appropriate?

8. In Part 1, Marse Samuel speaks to Dr. Ballard about the existence of slavery in the South. He says "it is evil to keep these people in bondage, yet they cannot be freed. They must be educated!" Samuel's brother Benjamin does not agree with him and argues the other point. Who makes the better argument?

9. When Nat imagines his grandmother's thoughts as a captured Coromantee slave girl, he describes Marse Samuel's smile as looking to her like "fiendish smirk." Why would he would describe the kindest master he had in this way?

10. When Nat talks with Mrs. Whitehead in Part 3 after tracing the map, she alternately praises him and treats him as property, stating that she'd offered one thousand dollars for him. How did that make Nat feel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many ways to ask questions. There are simple yes/no questions, open-ended questions, questions that ask someone to elaborate on a point, and leading questions, where someone asks a question so that the expected answer is clear. We don't have a record of the questions Mr. Gray asked of Nat. Based on your reading of the novel:

1. What might be some of the questions that Mr. Gray asked of Nat?

2. Was Mr. Gray trying to get a history of events, or was he more concerned with why Nat rebelled?

Essay Topic 2

Ethelred T. Brantley was told by Reverend Entwistle that he would never be welcome in the church. Yet Nat told him that he could be saved by baptism in the Spirit. Nat had studied the Bible, and we can assume Reverend Entwistle had, as well. How could two completely opposite statements about the same person come based on the same book? What might have been some reasons for Entwistle telling Brantley he wasn't welcome? What might have been some reasons for Nat to tell Entwistle he could be saved?

Essay Topic 3

Nat's thoughts in Styron's prose are educated, descriptive, and use proper English. Yet his speech toward white people is completely different. Why do you think that is? Does his speech change again when he speaks with other slaves? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,151 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample