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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. Who asks Mama to go to Kinshasa with him to run a business together?

2. Mama tells Christian in Scene 6 of Act One, "I have" how many "girls to feed and a business to run" (56)?

3. Sophie denies Mama's assertion that being 'ruined' causes one's former identity to do what?

4. Mama enters and says that she needs how many girls to get up and serve the miners?

5. Which instrument's sound causes Josephine to dance in a "frenzied" manner, releasing "her anger" and "her pain" (64)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What action does Mama take immediately after accusing Sophie of stealing in Scene 5 of Act One?

2. Which character becomes entranced by the sounds of the drums and is consequently comforted by Sophie in Scene 1 of Act Two?

3. Who is Fortune?

4. In what way is the motif of sound equated with life in the play entitled Ruined?

5. In what way is Sophie treated like an outcast, even among the women at Mama's place?

6. What was the cause of the pastor's ultimate fate, according to Christian?

7. What does Mama tell Fortune in Scene 3 of Act Two as he stands in the pouring rain outside the bar?

8. Who was Beatrice?

9. What does the pot symbolize within the play?

10. How does Sophie respond to Mama's demand to hear her plans for the stolen money?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Nottage’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of Ruined.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Sophia’s role within the events of the play and explain how her character helps to further develop certain themes that are key to Nottage's piece.

Essay Topic 3

All of the characters in the play have specific yet varied relationships with money. Examine the theme of money in the text and how it affects the various characters.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 958 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample