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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. How did Tiny Fran treat June?

2. When Ruby was a child, who really did all the work around the house?

3. After two months, why does Jack finally wash the sheets?

4. After June stayed a week and left, who did Jack and Ruby start to baby?

5. After emptying the deep freezer, what does Jack eat?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Frances get mad at Ruby during Tiny Fran's wedding?

2. Why did Ruby cry when she found out that John Woodrow was dead?

3. Who didn't attend Tiny Fran and Burr's wedding, and why?

4. What does Burr do for Jack, and how does this save his life?

5. Why were the townspeople afraid of Ruby?

6. Who did Tiny Fran blame for the way Roland turned out? Who did Jack and Burr blame?

7. What did Roland finally get arrested for?

8. Who was Tiny Fran's favorite child, and how did she treat the other one?

9. After June left their house, what did Jack and Ruby turn to in order to fill the void?

10. Who did Jack hire as a housekeeper, and what happened to make him fire the housekeeper?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore and discuss examples of social class divisions within the story, being sure to touch upon:

a) Race.

b) Stereotypes.

c) Morality.

Be sure to cite examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Explore the theme of death that occurs throughout the novel. How does death affect the various characters? How do some deaths, such as that of Burr's father, compare and contrast to Ruby's in how it affects their loved ones?

Essay Topic 3

Explore the theme of grief in its various forms as it appears throughout the story, e.g. Ruby's grief over the inability to have children, Jack's grief over the loss of his parents, Ruby's grief for leaving her family for John Woodrow, etc.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 744 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample