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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. Why did the original group traveling to what would become Ruby take some babies from their homes?

2. What was the occupation of the person that raised Lone DuPres?

3. What are K.D. and Arnette expecting?

4. How does Lone feel about the young couples' tendency to go to hospitals to deliver their babies?

5. How old was Connie when the man finally came to her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What sort of prejudice does Patricia witness in Ruby?

2. What does Deek believe that the tea that Connie gave Soane causes, and why is this ironic?

3. Though she was welcomed back home by her father, why did Pallas return to the Convent?

4. Why does Gigi receive fifty dollars for the box she finds under the bathtub?

5. What reasons does Patricia give for not approving of Richard's talks with the young people of the town?

6. What are some possible reasons for Connie spending so much time in the basement?

7. Why do the Fleetwoods blame Lone for problems with their grandchildren, and what evidence is there that the situation was not Lone's fault?

8. What do the women of the Convent do after Connie draws their outlines on the basement floor?

9. How do the women react to Lone's warning that men are coming to harm them?

10. What started the townspeople's idea that Billie was a wild child?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The racial situation in the United States during the time that "Paradise" was set was different from the situation today. Today we have the benefit of hindsight. Given what we know today, was creating their own towns the best alternative for black people given their limited options, or was it merely a form of self-imposed segregation?

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."

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