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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. How does Mama comfort Salima when Sophie helps her realize that Salima is hurting?

2. Which character pushes a drunken miner out the door at the beginning of Scene 6 of Act One?

3. Which character nurses a beer while watching Sophie and Mama sing in Scene 1 of Act Two?

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

5. Mama enters the living quarters in Scene 5 and tells which character to go fetch water?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the pot symbolize within the play?

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

3. Who was Beatrice?

4. In what way is the motif of escape depicted within Scene 1 of Act Two?

5. What reasons does Salima provide to Sophie when she says she does not know if she can forgive Fortune?

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

7. Describe Salima's living conditions during the five months she was held in captivity by soldiers.

8. What action does Mama take immediately after she hears the news Christian delivers in Scene 6 of Act One?

9. Who is Fortune?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose an object from Ruined, such as the motor scooter, the parrot, or some other symbolic object and discuss its overall meaning and its connection to themes within the text.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Nottage’s reasons for including Swahili phrases alongside the play’s use of English as its primary language.

Essay Topic 3

Explicate the theme of courage within Ruined. What is Nottage’s message regarding courage and how do you know?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 915 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample