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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 Sophie react to Mama's anger about the stolen money?

2. Salima tells Sophie that she had loved Fortune since she was how many years old?

3. Christian tells Mama in Scene 6 that which character's dead body had recently been found?

4. How many soldiers did Salima find standing over her when she finished speaking to a bird?

5. Which character claims that the pastor's eyes and tongue had been cut out by his murderers?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Nottage use physical space in order to generate a particular emotion in the audience?

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

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

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

5. What does the pot symbolize within the play?

6. Who was Beatrice?

7. What objects does Mama ask Sophie to fetch at the end of Scene 5 in Act Two and why?

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

9. What proposition does Christian make to Mama in Scene 6 of Act One and how does she respond?

10. Discuss an instance when Nottage utilizes the motif of animals in order to underscore the brutality of war.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Nottage’s play Ruined. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the play.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Ruined and one of the play's main messages. How does Nottage make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the play?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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