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Response Questions

Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok Response Questions

In NUS 102, students will write a two-page response to Escape from Slavery, using one of these questions. Each question has two parts: part (a) is related to the content of the book, and part (b) requires research. NUS 102 classes will visit the library, where a reference librarian will provide instruction for completing part (b). The essay must include at least one outside source of information: a quote, a statistic, or a historical fact. 

  1. (a) Contrast Francis’ life before he was captured with his life with Giemma. How might you have coped with these differences as a child? (b) Find one source that describes the effects of traumatic experiences on children. Summarize your findings in 1-2 paragraphs. Then apply what you found to Francis’ experience.
  2. (a) Describe Bok’s tasks, responsibilities, and burdens as a slave. Whose slave is he? Describe his masters, and describe how they treat him. What is he forced to do? (b) Locate one source that describes the reality of child slaves. Summarize your findings in 1-2 paragraphs. Then relate what you found to Francis’ experiences.
  3. (a) Were you surprised at Giemma’s decision to spare Bok’s life in Chapter 8? Explain. Why do you think Giemma decided to do this? Also, describe the “double game” Bok talks about in this chapter. Could you ever play such a dualistic game? Why/why not? (b) To understand the relationship between Giemma and Francis is to understand Sudan’s 21-year-old genocidal civil war. Find two credible resources that explain this atrocity.
  4. (a) Who is Charles Jacobs? What does he do for a living? Why does Bok admire him so? Describe the bond these two men share. (b) Locate one source that describes an individual, group, or organization that is raising awareness about 21st century slavery. How does what you find relate to the book?
  5. (a) Basketball, expensive sneakers, all sorts of music on the radio: Bok finds much to enjoy in American pop culture. But what about the difficulties of his Americanization?Discuss the problems he faced in adjusting to life here. What did you learn from this book about emigrating to (or gaining citizenship in) the U.S.? (b) Locate one source that describes challenges faced by African immigrants to the US. Describe what you learned and explain how it compares with Francis’ experience.
  6. (a) The first speech Bok gives about his life as a slave occurs at the Southern Baptist Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Why does the pastor who introduced Bok tell the children in his congregation that they especially “need to hear” Bok’s words? If you were to recommend Bok’s account to a particular audience, who would it be? Why? (b) Locate one source that describes either a religious or an African American group that is working to eliminate 21st century slavery. Describe what you found.
  7. (a) Chapter 18 is entitled “The Education of Francis Bok.” Why is getting an education so important to Bok? What doors does he believe it can open? How do Bok’s ideas about education and America itself reflect one another? Also, why do Bok’s classmates at the Boston Evening Academy initially tease and belittle him? What changes their view of him? (b) Locate one article about educational programs for recent immigrants to the US. Briefly describe what you found.
  8. (a) In the Afterword, Bok says he hopes to someday “go back to Sudan to retrieve what I lost by growing up in the north.” Why does Bok equate “real freedom” with “the ability to go back home” in the first place? Explain what has to happen—what must change—before Bok can return to his homeland. (b) Locate one credible source that describes the current situation in southern Sudan. How does what you found help you understand the challenges that Bok and others who left in the 1990s might face if they returned to Sudan?
  9. (a) Bok was confronted by many challenges, both during slavery and after he escaped. Describe some of these challenges and describe how he overcame them. (b) Locate one source that discusses child slavery. Briefly summarize your findings, and compare what you found to Francis’ experiences.
  10. (a) Bok frequently emphasized his need for Dinka culture (when he was enslaved and belittled as an “animal”; when he first came to the US and lived in North Dakota; when he moved to Boston). He felt that he couldn’t move forward without the customs that culturally signified that he was a Dinka adult. Yet he gave up close association with other Dinkas to go to the U.S., and later he moved to Boston to help his people. Do you think you could live apart from your family and culture and promote a cause important to you? Why or why not? (b) Jok Madut Jok is another activist related to Bok’s cause. Who is he? How does his work compare with Francis’ work?
  11. (a) One important aspect of Sudanese culture is their oral tradition. In what ways was this helpful to Bok? In what ways was this difficult? (b) Locate one source about oral tradition in any society. Describe what you found, and explain what you learned about the importance of oral tradition in that society.
  12. (a) Choose one of the following and describe what you learned about it from the book: the politics of Sudan; the culture of Sudan; or the history of Sudan. (b) Use at least two credible sources to explain your response.
  13. (a) Why do you think the Niagara Reads committee selected this book for you to read? What have you learned from reading Escape from Slavery? How has this book affected you? Will it spur you to any action? (b) Find two organizations that would help you to become actively involved. Explain why you are interested in their mission.
  14. (a) Niagara University’s mission statement includes this goal: “To develop within its students a passion for learning.” In what ways did Escape from Slavery spark your interest in learning more? What would you like to know more about? Why? (b) Locate at least two organizations that would help you learn more and explain why they might be useful.
  15. (a) Define the Sudan Peace Act. When was it signed into a law? What does this act ensure or provide? Validate your answers with two credible sources. (b) Explain how Bok, Charles Jacobs, and others at the AASG were involved with both the creation and promotion of this act.

Prepared by Sharon Green and Melissa Langridge, April 2010.

Some questions were adapted from St. Martin’s Teacher’s Guide for Escape from Slavery.