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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. What are the names of Ebbett's sons?

2. What do some of the workers do when the granite industry folds?

3. Who is Vera?

4. Who builds a coffin in Chapter 1?

5. What is the weather like when Ruth is born?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Simon and Webster look for at Potter Beach in Chapter 2 and why?

2. Describe Ruth's childhood as described in Chapter 1.

3. Who is Ebbett Thomas?

4. How does Simon try to help Rhonda in Chapter 1?

5. What nationalities have married one another to create a distinctive population on these islands?

6. Who is Ricky? What does the reader learn about Ricky in Chapter 6?

7. Who are the members of Ebbett's family?

8. Describe Mary's wedding.

9. How do mother and daughter greet one another in Chapter 5?

10. What do Simon and Ruth talk about as they watch Webster in Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the love and romance found in the novel, particularly the relationship between Ruth and Owney. How do they meet? What is Ruth's first impression of Owney? What is the status of their relationship by the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the setting of the novel. In what way is the setting an important aspect of this story? How might Ruth's life have been different if she had not lived in the lobster fishing community?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the motif of death in the novel "Stern Men". Who dies in the novel and why? How do these deaths affect the other characters?

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