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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

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

3. How does Mammy notate the ages of the slave children that she raises?

4. What does Sarny describe Mammy putting her head into in order to pray in Chapter 2?

5. What word from Chapter 3 refers to a gourd used for eating or drinking?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Sarny's relationship with Mammy illustrated in Chapter 1? How does Mammy feel about the other children she cares for?

2. What intrigues and inspires Sarny to want to learn to read and write? What risks does she take in doing so?

3. How does Sarny describe the process of meals for the slaves at the plantation in Chapter 3?

4. What work is Sarny doing on the plantation in the beginning of Chapter 2? How does she feel about this chore?

5. What imagery and/or symbolism is used in describing the slaves on the plantation in Chapter 2?

6. How does the author illustrate Sarny's only encounter with money in Chapter 2?

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

8. What is the significance of John's scars when he first appears? Why do you think Waller chose John despite those scars?

9. How does Mr. Waller behave toward John as he brings him into the plantation in Chapter 3?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the meaning and the value of money as seen through Sarny’s eyes in Nightjohn. What does Sarny remark about the monetary value that her mother brought for Waller? How does this perception of people as having a monetary value impact Sarny’s view of the world around her? What negative impacts might this outlook cause in a person’s self worth?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the setting of Waller’s plantation. About how many slaves do you imagine living on the plantation? What kinds of crops does Waller produce? Where on the plantation do the slaves live? What are their living quarters like? How is Waller’s home described?

Essay Topic 3

How is slave life described in the novel? List at least five ways in which Waller ensures that his slaves are stripped of their freedom. Which seems most invasive to you? Why? What freedom(s) would you most miss if you lost your freedoms today?

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