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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 Rocky send Ruth?

2. What kind of career did Andrew want to pursue in New York?

3. Who does Ruth meet outside the church?

4. Who does Ruth phone in this chapter?

5. What celebrates its 40th anniversary in 1994?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the character of Andrew.

2. Describe the blood sacrifice of a chicken.

3. Describe Andrew and Ruth's relationship.

4. What does Aubrey Rubenstein tell James in Chapter 22?

5. What problems does James say he had as a child of mixed race?

6. In what way do Ruth and Andrew become more involved in religion in Chapter 23?

7. Why do Ruth's parents refuse to get a divorce?

8. How is Delaware different from New York?

9. Why does Ruth struggle to find a place she wants to be buried?

10. How does Ruth's relationship with Andrew affect her family life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look at the structure of the book.

1) Discuss elements of the narrative structure: exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's ideas?

2) Examine the way McBride uses other people in the story to express his ideas.

Essay Topic 2

What insight does James give about the Great Depression in the Thirties? How does Ruth's parents cope with the Great Depression? In what way does the Great Depression destroy, or almost destroy, the lives of people close to Ruth? What did American society learn from the Great Depression in the Thirties?

Essay Topic 3

Examine McBride's writing style. How would you describe his prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? Does he use any specific writing techniques? What meaning does McBride's style give to his story?

(see the answer keys)

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