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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. Who is estranged for eight months after a heated verbal fight?

2. When Ruth leaves Toby's room in Chapter 10, what does she wish she had declared to him?

3. Why does Kitty live with Rhonda in Chapter 12?

4. Who gives Ruth and Cal the horrible smelling item in Chapter 7?

5. Who ends up in a coma after a fight in Wayside Hotel bar in Rockland?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Owney have hidden lobsters?

2. What happens when Stan visits Ruth at Rhonda's in Chapter 12?

3. What puts a stop to the last lobster war?

4. Describe the second, third and fourth lobster wars.

5. How did Stan and Angus become estranged for eight months?

6. What does Ruth want for her future?

7. What happened to Stan's marriage to Mary during the lobster wars and immediately following the lobster war?

8. What strange news circulates about Lanford in Chapter 12?

9. What does Owney want to be when he is older?

10. What do Ruth and Toby say to one another on the topic of religion in Chapter 10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the secondary characters of the novel. Who are they and what are their roles in the novel? Describe their relationships with Ruth.

Essay Topic 2

What is discussed about religion in the novel? What are Ruth's religious beliefs? Pastor Toby is a religious figure in the novel: how is he depicted?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the motif of family in the novel "Stern Men". Describe Ruth's relationship with her father and mother. Describe the Pommeroy and Ellis families.

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