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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. Which of the following do Fort Niles and Courne Haven have in common?

2. What question does Simon often ask Ruth?

3. What road do Simon, Webster and Ruth walk down at the beginning of Chapter 3?

4. Who does Ruth find drinking with Angus in Chapter 4?

5. Who officiates the funeral in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are the men on the islands described?

2. Who dies in Chapter 1? How does this death impact the other characters?

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

4. Who is Ebbett Thomas?

5. Where and when is the novel "Stern Men" set?

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

7. What do Ruth, Cal and Toby talk about while on the New Hope in Chapter 5?

8. Describe Ruth's birth.

9. What does Ruth think of Vera?

10. Describe the funeral in Chapter 1.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the urban versus rural theme of the novel. How does Gilbert illustrate this theme? How does this theme relate to other themes and motifs of the novel? How are the urban settings depicted? How are the rural settings depicted?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author of the novel "Stern Men", Elizabeth Gilbert. What are some of the other works she has written? Compare the themes of these other works to "Stern Men".

Essay Topic 3

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?

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