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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 is one possible reason that Menus drinks too much?

2. Where does Patricia say that Billie currently resides?

3. What had happened to Lone's birth mother before the group headed to Ruby arrived?

4. How many bodies does Roger pick up at the Convent?

5. What was the name of the woman who took care of Lone after Lone's mother died?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the women react to Lone's warning that men are coming to harm them?

2. What do the women of the Convent do after Connie draws their outlines on the basement floor?

3. Why does Lone believe that the men of Ruby want to get rid of the women at the Convent?

4. What do Arnette and Soane have in common in terms of being parents?

5. Why do some people believe that Senior Pullman's negative remarks are directed at Richard Misner?

6. What are some of K.D.'s thoughts about marriage that indicate that he still has an immature or naïve worldview?

7. Though she was welcomed back home by her father, why did Pallas return to the Convent?

8. What started the townspeople's idea that Billie was a wild child?

9. What reasons does Patricia give for not approving of Richard's talks with the young people of the town?

10. What were the circumstances surrounding Ruby Best's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do you believe that Mavis' family really intended or even wanted to kill her? Could there be another reason for Mavis believing that her family wanted to kill her?

Essay Topic 2

Offer a detailed theory about the meaning of the title of the novel. On the surface, neither Ruby nor the Convent seems like a paradise. What might Morrison have intended by choosing this title?

Essay Topic 3

The novel does not have a simply linear plot progression. Describe the novel's plot progression and what effect this has on the reader.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 728 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample