View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Isabel learn that Curzon was lying when he said he had been hired as a blacksmith?

2. How did Curzon know Ebeneezer Woodruff?

3. Why was Isabel excited to hear Ruth's story about racing crabs?

4. Who was Isabel's "old friend" (175) at the Continental camp that she hoped would help them?

5. Which of the following did Ruth do when she was nervous?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Isabel think that Ruth burned the free papers?

2. Why did Isabel not tell Ruth the truth about Aberdeen?

3. Why did Mister Hallahan not pay Isabel for her work in the tavern?

4. Why did Isabel think digging the trench was a bad idea?

5. Why did Isabel decide that she and Ruth could not travel with the women of the army?

6. What kind of person was Miss Marrow?

7. Why did Ruth's worry about Aberdeen increase as time went on?

8. What did Isabel mean when she said, "We had been forced back into war for our liberty" (151)?

9. What was Curzon's manner like when he encountered Isabel and Ruth at his company's camp?

10. How did Isabel's feelings towards Aberdeen change by the time she encountered him hiding in the bushes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring the theme of finding one's purpose in Ashes. Where does this theme originate? Which characters have a purpose? How do the characters' purposes grow and change throughout the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout this book, Isabel and other characters grapple with a difficult question: Are the Patriots fighting for freedom for all? Write a persuasive essay taking a side in this issue. Support your argument with research in addition to statements made in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout Ashes, we learn about Isabel's inner world through her self-talk as narrator. What does the reader learn about Isabel by being able to witness her thinking? How does Anderson's choice of a first-person limited narrator affect the plot and mood of Ashes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 924 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample