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. What has Imogene done for Ruth by being around her?

2. Who dictates a letter to Imogene?

3. At Imogene's insistence, who dances with Ruth?

4. Whom does Amanda spy on in Part 2, Chapter 14?

5. To whom is the note that Amanda finds outside addressed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Amanda goes into labor?

2. How do Amanda and Ruth survive the fall into the ice that kills Mathilda?

3. Discuss Amanda's trip to Clements.

4. Discuss the paying job Carl gets.

5. What happens after Imogene returns home after being away in Chicago?

6. Discuss the letter Amanda finds.

7. What happens during Arthur and Ruth's time spent together in Part 2, Chapter 15?

8. Discuss Carl's trip to the Cathedral.

9. Discuss the plan Mathilda concocts involving Amanda and her pregnancy.

10. What happens when Clement disappears without a word?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Setting is heavily used in "Drowning Ruth." Discuss and explain how dialogue is used in the story and why it plays such a large role. Cite examples from the text in order to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

Ruth is the main character in the novel. She has many ideas involving the death of Mathilda, her mother. Discuss any foils that stand in Ruth's way when she tries to learn the truth about her mother's drowning.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of dialogue in the novel and the effects it has on the story as well as the relationship that readers have with characters.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 783 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample