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 does the young man who walks into Anna's store seek?

2. Why is the friendship between Connie and Soane surprising?

3. Who is the nephew of the Morgan twins?

4. Where had most of the residents of Ruby resided prior to starting the town of Ruby?

5. What is K.D. doing at the opening of the chapter?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the plot not flow in a chronological manner in the chapter "Ruby"?

2. What is one of the things the Morgan twins probably consider when they are trying to decide what to do about Arnette's pregnancy?

3. Why did the founders of Ruby decide to name the town Ruby instead of New Haven?

4. How do the men from Ruby justify such drastic action against the women at the Convent?

5. How does Mavis get confused and diverted from her intention to go straight to California?

6. What are some of town situations that Dovey Morgan thinks about?

7. Why did Seneca go to Wichita, and why was the trip unproductive?

8. Why was the town of Haven not as affected by the Great Depression as most of the rest of the country?

9. Why does Deek drive to the bank even though it is a short distance?

10. What event cuts short Mavis's reunion upon arriving back at the Convent after a month's absence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Could the major conflict in the novel have been resolved any other way, or was the final outcome inevitable?

Essay Topic 2

Foreshadowing is an important literary tool. Examine the text for instances of foreshadowing. If instances are present, how do they impact the plot? If there are no instances of foreshadowing, a rare occurrence in a novel, how does the absence of foreshadowing affect the reader's reception of the story?

Essay Topic 3

On multiple occasions the civil authority in the area of Ruby is referred to as the "white law." The "white law" is something no citizen of Ruby wants to come in contact with. Explain what citizens of Ruby mean by "white law" and offer explanations based on information from the text and your own knowledge of history about why citizens of Ruby would fear the "white law."

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 784 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample