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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 does Simon bring the Pommeroys in Chapter 1?

2. What does Simon hire Webster to do?

3. What does Simon search for at Potter Beach when he is 73?

4. Who does Ruth stay with when her parents go away for a short time in Chapter 1?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Ebbett Thomas?

2. Who is Mary? What does the reader learn of Mary's past in Chapter 4?

3. What does Simon tell Rhonda not to do in Chapter 1? Why does he give her this advice?

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

5. How are the men on the islands described?

6. What does Ruth think of Vera?

7. What does Simon think of Lanford?

8. Describe Ruth's birth.

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

10. How do Stan and Mary meet? What do they think of one another when they first meet?

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

Analyze and interpret the protagonist of the novel. Ruth Thomas. What are her defining character traits? What is most important to her and why? What important events take place during her life?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the conflict in the novel "Stern Men". Who is in conflict with whom? Describe the lobster wars and how these conflicts impacted the characters involved. How is Ruth's conflict with the Ellis' resolved?

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