The Color of Water Quizzes

The Color of Water Quiz 1

1 Where was Ruth born?
Poland

Russia

The United States

Germany
2 Why did Ruth's family move from place to place?
Tateh was a traveling salesman

The family enjoyed seeing the country

Mameh's handicap required the family to move from doctor to doctor

Tateh was a rabbi whose contracts were never renewed
3 How did Mameh become crippled?
She suffered a fall as a child

Her father beat her

She fell ill on the trip to America

She suffered from polio as a child
4 What religious faith did Ruth's family practice?
Islam

Christianity

Buddhism

Orthodox Judaism
5 How does Ruth begin her story?
"I'm an American..."

"I was born..."

"I'm a believer..."

"I'm dead..."
6 How many children did Ruth give birth to?
Ten

Fifteen

Twelve

Five
7 Where did James and his family grow up?
In Louisville, Kentucky

In Wilmington, Delaware

In the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn

In Suffolk, Virginia
8 Whose death did Ruth first experience?
Zaydeh's

Tateh's

Mameh's

Bubeh's
9 Who was the first man to show Ruth love?
Zaydeh

Tateh

Peter

Dennis
10 Why did Tateh marry Mameh?
Because he loved her

To get a ticket to America

To settle down and have children

Because he felt sorry for her crippled condition
11 What did Ruth fear when Zaydeh was buried?
That the body would decay

That his ghost would haunt her

That he was being buried alive

That the mirrors would shatter
12 What did Ruth and her first husband find in Red Hook?
A Jewish school

A day care center

A Baptist church

A homeless shelter
13 What two things did Ruth emphasize to her children?
Love and success

Church and success

School and church

School and success
14 Why did James punch the boy on the bus?
Because the boy teased him for having a white mother

Because the boy tried to steal his money

Because the boy's father was a Black Panther and James was scared for his mother

Because he hated Black Panthers
15 Why were Tateh's contracts as a rabbi never renewed?
Because Tateh liked moving around

Because that was the norm

Because he was a lousy rabbi

Because the synagogues usually had very little money
16 In Suffolk, what business did Tateh start?
A newsstand

A beauty shop

A theater

A grocery store
17 What did Ruth call Tateh?
A fox

A turtle

A rat

A skunk
18 Who, according to Ruth, is the color of water?
Mameh

James

God

Dennis
19 What about the black community in Suffolk struck Ruth?
That the families seemed happy

That they lived a hard life

That they never judged her

All of the above
20 How does Tateh treat his son Sam?
With indifference

Like a slave

Like an apprentice

With lavish pride
21 Where does Sam run away to?
Europe

Chicago

New York

Alaska
22 How does James describe the household in which he grew up?
As "orchestrated chaos"

As "subdued and at peace"

As "hellish"

As "a catastrophe for everyone"
23 Why is the eldest sibling so revered?
Because he is musically gifted

Because he is a writer

Because he threatens to beat them

Because he attends medical school
24 How does Helen rebel?
By becoming a hippie

By running away from home

By quitting school

All of the above
25 What color does Richie tell Reverend Owen Jesus should be?
Black

Gray

The color of water

White