I. Identify the following items and explain the significance

-the "color of water"

-"God made me"

-Tateh

-sitting shiva

-Helen

-riding a bicycle

-Chicken man

-Peter

-"Mameh was his meal ticket to America"

-"contradiction lived and survived in its essence"

-"I was starving in another way"

-"DonÕt read that book anymore"

-"A Jew discovered"

-"the glory years"

II. Write a detailed answer for each of the following questions

1. Why is Ruth "dead"?

2. Describe the circumstances surrounding James' first time alone with his mother? Why was this a sweet memory for him?

3. What legal paper did Ruth keep on her person for over 25 years

4. Consider the following simile: "There was something inside me an ache I had, like a constant itch that got bigger and bigger as I grew". What is being compared? To what is he referring?

5. Why did James say that he feared black power?

6. What did Ruth say she was "real conscious of"?

7. When Ruth was a young girl she had a hobby? What was it and why did she love it?

8. What was James' perception of his mother's tears?

9. Why did Mameh tell the sailors "No thank you"?

10. What was ironic about Tateh's worrying about "black folks...stealing from him"?

11. Explain the relationship between the "little kids" and the "big kids".

12. Ruth made a statement about "a different kind of poor". To what is she referring?

13. How did Ruth show her appreciation for or benefit from her Jewish background?

14. What did Mameh return to Ruth? What did it mean for her to do so?

15. Why was James "never quite aware of the concept of father"? When did he become aware?

16. How did Aunt Betts help Ruth?

17. Who is James sent to live with during the summer? Why?

18. Why didn't Ruth participate in her graduation?

19. Who is Rocky? How did he help Ruth?

20. Why does Ruth want to leave Wilmington?

21. Explain why Ruth was "too embarrassed " to call her mother on the phone?

22. Why did racism smash James "across the face like a bottle"?

23. Who is Bubeh? What did the letter that Ruth received reveal about Bubeh?

24. Where did James "long search" for the Shilsky family end?

25. How did Dennis expand Ruth's world?

26. As Ruth considers her mortality, where does she want to be buried?