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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. To what institution did the foundation donate the Convent?

2. Who is the man who has secret meetings with Connie?

3. Who tells Patricia of what K.D. and Arnette are expecting?

4. What had happened to Lone's birth mother before the group headed to Ruby arrived?

5. What is one possible reason that Menus drinks too much?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How do the town of Ruby and the Convent share joint responsibility for the field of marijuana?

3. Why does Mavis buy toys every Christmas?

4. What do some of the people that try to stop the massacre seem more concerned about than the welfare of the women of the Convent?

5. According to Lone, what do the Fleetwoods blame on the women of the Convent, and why does Lone think this makes no sense?

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

7. Why do many parents of the town instruct their children to stay away from Billie Delia, and is this reputation deserved?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Morrison's or the narrator's use of language in the novel "Paradise". Is the language elevated to the poetic or is it the everyday language of the rural people of Ruby?

Essay Topic 2

Though the Morgan's are the wealthiest and most powerful people in Ruby, that is not to say that they have not faced their own hardships. Indeed, the Morgans have endured heartbreaking loses. Outline some of these loses and offer theories on why the loses did or did not affect the Morgan's views on race relations.

Essay Topic 3

Generally in fiction there is a clear protagonist and a clear antagonist. Can this be said of the novel "Paradise"? If you believe the novel contains a clear protagonist and antagonist, name them and explain how they fit these roles. If you believe there are no clear protagonists or antagonists, explain how this is the case.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 860 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample