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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. To whom does Mammy pray when Sarny witnesses her in Chapter 2?
(a) Saint Mary.
(b) The Great Buddha.
(c) Lord Jesus.
(d) Allah.

2. How does Mammy notate the ages of the slave children that she raises?
(a) By putting stakes in the ground.
(b) By scratching marks on the floor.
(c) By collecting pebbles in a jar.
(d) By marking notches on sticks.

3. What does John call out for from the slaves in the sleeping quarters on his first night at the plantation in Chapter 3?
(a) Extra food.
(b) Water.
(c) Whiskey.
(d) Tobacco.

4. What does Sarny say is forbidden in the slaves' sleeping quarters in Chapter 3?
(a) Food.
(b) Beds.
(c) Light.
(d) Water.

5. When did the U.S. Congress outlaw the importation of slaves?
(a) March 26, 1865.
(b) July 7, 1800.
(c) January 1, 1808.
(d) April 12, 1799.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Sarny demonstrate the "letters" that she discovered on the feed sack for John in Chapter 3?

2. In what year did the United States Congress pass a Slave Trade Act which prohibited the building or outfitting of ships in the U.S. for use in the slave trade?

3. What European country was the first to engage in the New World slave trade?

4. What does John offer to trade with the slaves in the sleeping quarters on his first night in Chapter 3?

5. What does Sarny recall Mammy telling her to do with the coin that she found in the dirt in Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you describe the tone and mood of the novel as established in Chapter 1?

2. How does the author describe the regulations and rules regarding slaves and religion in Chapter 2?

3. What does Mammy measure on the sticks that she keeps for each child on the plantation? Why?

4. How does Sarny describe Mammy's method of praying in Chapter 2? Why does Mammy pray this way?

5. What is the trade that John offers to make with Sarny in Chapter 3? How does Sarny feel about the offer?

6. How is Sarny's character introduced to the reader in Chapter 1? What does Sarny say brought Nightjohn to her?

7. What was Mammy's response when she discovered Sarny copying the symbols from the grain sack into the dirt when she was a child? Why did she react in this manner?

8. What does Sarny describe thinking about as the others sleep in the slave quarters at night in Chapter 1?

9. How is Sarny's birth and early childhood described in Chapter 1? Are Sarny's experiences common for slaves at this time?

10. What is foreshadowed by Sarny's description of the penny that she once found in Chapter 2?

(see the answer keys)

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