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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. Who leads the exhausted Josephine to the back of the bar after her frenzied dance?

2. How many soldiers did Salima find standing over her when she finished speaking to a bird?

3. Sophie reveals to Mama in Scene 5 of Act One that she had been intending to use the money for what purpose?

4. What was Salima picking in her garden at the time she was abducted by soldiers?

5. Christian tells Mama in Scene 6 that which character's dead body had recently been found?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Fortune?

2. What is ironic about Nottage's description of Fortune as being "like a centurion guarding the gates" (63)?

3. What action does Mama take immediately after accusing Sophie of stealing in Scene 5 of Act One?

4. What was the cause of the pastor's ultimate fate, according to Christian?

5. What does Mama tell Fortune in Scene 3 of Act Two as he stands in the pouring rain outside the bar?

6. What was Beatrice's ultimate fate, according to Salima in Scene 2 of Act Two?

7. In what way is the motif of escape depicted within Scene 1 of Act Two?

8. What action does Mama take immediately after she hears the news Christian delivers in Scene 6 of Act One?

9. Discuss an instance when Nottage utilizes the motif of animals in order to underscore the brutality of war.

10. Which character becomes entranced by the sounds of the drums and is consequently comforted by Sophie in Scene 1 of Act Two?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

All of the characters in the play have specific yet varied relationships with money. Examine the theme of money in the text and how it affects the various characters.

Essay Topic 2

What is the central purpose of the work Ruined? What response do you think Nottage wants from the text’s audience? How does each character support Nottage’s purpose?

Essay Topic 3

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Nottage’s play Ruined. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the play.

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