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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. "Partus sequitur ventrem" was a legal doctrine adopted widely into the laws of slavery in the American colonies. What did this law dictate?
(a) That the child of a slave was a slave.
(b) That slaves were forbidden from reading and writing.
(c) That escaped slaves must be returned to their master.
(d) That slaves be forbidden from attending church.

2. What is John's response when Sarny asks him in Chapter 3, "Why they be cutting our thumbs off if we learn to read--if that's all it is?"
(a) Cause it says so in the Bible.
(b) Cause they worried that we'll start talking like them.
(c) Cause to know things, for us to know things, is bad for them.
(d) Cause they think we're too dumb to learn.

3. What had Mammy done when Sarny copied the letters from the feed sack in the dirt when she was younger?
(a) She laughed.
(b) She told Waller.
(c) She smacked her.
(d) She praised her.

4. How does Sarny describe John's back when he arrives in Chapter 3?
(a) It is black and smooth.
(b) It is proud beneath his shirt.
(c) It is covered in scars.
(d) It is milky white.

5. What does John tell Sarny she will have to learn before she can learn to read in Chapter 3?
(a) How to be quiet.
(b) The alphabet.
(c) The rules of grammar.
(d) How to count.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word from Chapter 4 refers to a noisy or disorderly group or gathering?

2. What emotion does John's story about his past inspire in Mammy in Chapter 4?

3. What does Sarny think about when she finally lays down in bed at the end of Chapter 3?

4. What does Sarny say is forbidden in the slaves' sleeping quarters in Chapter 3?

5. How long does Sarny say it took Waller and his dogs to catch Jim when he ran in Chapter 4?

(see the answer key)

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