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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. 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?

2. Why do Ruth and Emil stop spending time together?

3. To whom does Nathan run off to speak while Frank and Jake are getting ready for Ariel's visitation service?

4. What evidence of Warren Redstone's guilt do the police find when they search the O'Keefes' basement where he has been staying?

5. Who is the only person able to console Ruth during her wait for information about Ariel?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

4. 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?

5. How does Nathan's sermon affect Frank?

6. What is the cause of Lise's heightened anxiety and frantic behavior when Nathan goes to Emil's house to talk to Ruth?

7. When Frank and Jake try to overhear yet another conversation at Emil's and Lise's house, their plan is thwarted. What is the cause of their plan failing?

8. Why is Frank so surprised to see Ruth and Gus sitting together at the kitchen table when he and the rest of the family return from Sibley Park?

9. In what ways are the complicated nature of the grief cycle demonstrated to the reader through the experiences of Frank and Jake?

10. What causes Ruth to get less and less hopeful about Ariel's safe return as phone calls continue to stream into their home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author uses a prologue and an epilogue in order to present a framed narrative, one in which a narrator starts the story in present time, tells the entirety of the story within the bulk of the book, and ends by joining the reader again in present time. What effect does this aspect have on the overall meaning of the novel and what is the author's purpose for making the story into a framed narrative in this way?

Essay Topic 2

Vices often play a role in the narrative, with some characters engaging in drinking, smoking, and gambling, among other activities often considered immoral, or at least troublesome. How does the author use characters' vices in contrast with the themes of faith and innocence within the novel?

Essay Topic 3

How does the novel's title express its themes? Use three different scenes and related concrete details to prove your claim.

(see the answer keys)

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