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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. What do Karl's male friends say he revealed to them in the weeks leading up to Ariel's disappearance?

2. After Ruth insults Julia and the Brandts leave, Nathan asks Ruth if there is any way he can help her get rid of her anger. What is her reply?

3. What plan does Frank have in order to find out what is happening between Nathan and Ruth when Nathan goes to fetch her from Emil's house?

4. Jake asks Frank what they should do in order to deal with their grief and Frank says he has an idea but that Jake may not like it. What is Frank's idea?

5. What does Warren Redstone have in his possession that causes the police to suspect his involvement with Ariel's disappearance?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why and how does Ruth lose the one person who has served as her comfort throughout the tragedy surrounding Ariel?

2. What elements of family life at the Drums' home drive Ruth to leave the family to stay elsewhere for a while?

3. How does Warren Redstone play a role in the altercation between Frank and Morris Engdahl?

4. Who acts as the go-between, bringing news back and forth between the police station and the Drum family and how does this role fit the character's relationship to the family?

5. What timeline does Karl present when he is questioned by the police?

6. What news does Gus bring to Ruth while Nathan is at the funeral home making arrangements for Ariel's funeral?

7. Why is it ironic that Ruth refuses to attend the New Bremen church service at which Nathan preaches right after Ariel's dead body is found?

8. What, if any, clues do Karl, Frank, Jake, the sheriff, and Officer Doyle find when they get to Sibley Park, the site of the bonfire party?

9. What are the differences in how each member of the Drum family feels about Karl's new status as a murder suspect?

10. Why is Frank initially not very worried about Ariel when she does not return home the night of the Fourth of July?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of the characters within the novel carry around various secrets, unduly burdening them and thus, the people who love them. What is the author's message regarding secrecy, deception, and catharsis?

Essay Topic 2

Like many other coming-of-age books and movies, Ordinary Grace presents the loss of innocence as a theme. Trace Frank's loss of innocence over the course of the novel's narrative. What is the author's purpose for depicting Frank's, as well as other characters', loss of innocence throughout the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one character from the novel. Discuss Krueger's use of the four characterization methods to depict this character: indirect description, direct description, revelation by self, and relation by others. How does Krueger use these methods to shape the reader's impression of the character?

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