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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 were the first people Isabel and her friends met at Williamsburg?

2. Why did Serafina have Ruth and Aberdeen hide in the hayloft with Isabel and Curzon?

3. What did Isabel find suspicious when they first arrived in Riverbend?

4. When Ruth fell ill with a fever, who did Isabel blame?

5. How had Isabel and Curzon been getting information to lead them towards Ruth?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Isabel say to Curzon, “I know better than you what the pain of fire can do a person” (66)?

2. When Isabel arrived at Riverbend, what had changed about Ruth since the last time she saw her?

3. What did Curzon mean when he said, "Lazarus is a lass" (81)?

4. What is the narrative point of view of Ashes?

5. Why did Isabel think that Curzon should not go searching for food for Ruth?

6. Why did Ruth call the donkey Thomas Boon?

7. Why did Isabel see when she looked at Ruth through "a stranger's eyes" (91) in Chapter XVI?

8. Why did Aberdeen know Ruth better than Isabel did?

9. Why did Isabel want people who saw her and Ruth wandering around town to think they were slaves?

10. How did Isabel and Ruth get jobs at the laundry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How are Isabel, Ruth, Curzon, and other black characters treated by white characters in Ashes? Which white characters treat them with respect? Which white characters treat them poorly? What message is Anderson trying to send about racism?

Essay Topic 2

The other soldiers in the Rhode Island regiment are minor characters and so do not have distinct personalities, save for perhaps Henry; nonetheless they play an important role in the resolution of the novel. Write an essay that explains how these characters support both the romantic and political conflicts in Ashes.

Essay Topic 3

How are Isabel and Curzon similar as characters? How are they different?

(see the answer keys)

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