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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. What does Sarny recall Mammy telling her to do with the coin that she found in the dirt in Chapter 2?
2. Where does Sarny demonstrate the "letters" that she discovered on the feed sack for John in Chapter 3?
3. What does Sarny remark about her birth in Chapter 1?
4. How much money does Mrs. Waller say that her husband just spent on a new hand in Chapter 2?
5. When Sarny overhears the mistress of the plantation in Chapter 2, the mistress is complaining that her husband spends too much money buying slaves. What is she concerned that she will not have enough money to purchase due to her husband's overspending?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does the author illustrate Sarny's only encounter with money in Chapter 2?
2. How is Sarny's relationship with Mammy illustrated in Chapter 1? How does Mammy feel about the other children she cares for?
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. How would you describe the narrator of the story? Is the narrator directly involved in the action of the narrative?
6. What imagery and/or symbolism is used in describing the slaves on the plantation in Chapter 2?
7. When is the first time that Sarny describes hearing the word "free" in Chapter 2? What were her perceptions of this word?
8. What work is Sarny doing on the plantation in the beginning of Chapter 2? How does she feel about this chore?
9. How is Sarny's character introduced to the reader in Chapter 1? What does Sarny say brought Nightjohn to her?
10. 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?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the “barter” made between John and Sarny when they first meet. How does bartering or trading relate to the theme of monetary value in the novel? What does Sarny trade with John in order to learn “letters”? What does John gain from the arrangement?
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
Analyze the character of Mammy, or Old Delie, in the novel. About how old do you imagine Mammy to be? What is Mammy’s essential function on Waller’s plantation? How would you describe the bond between Sarny and Mammy?
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This section contains 1,055 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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