The Color of Water Quizzes

The Color of Water Quiz 1

By Laura Moon Kim · Edited by Jordan Reid Berkow · Last reviewed May 08, 2006

1 Where was Ruth born?

Poland

Russia

Germany

The United States
2 Why did Ruth's family move from place to place?

Tateh was a traveling salesman

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

The family enjoyed seeing the country

Tateh was a rabbi whose contracts were never renewed
3 How did Mameh become crippled?

She fell ill on the trip to America

She suffered a fall as a child

Her father beat her

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

Christianity

Islam

Orthodox Judaism

Buddhism
5 How does Ruth begin her story?

"I'm a believer..."

"I was born..."

"I'm dead..."

"I'm an American..."
6 How many children did Ruth give birth to?

Fifteen

Ten

Twelve

Five
7 Where did James and his family grow up?

In Louisville, Kentucky

In Suffolk, Virginia

In Wilmington, Delaware

In the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn
8 Whose death did Ruth first experience?

Mameh's

Bubeh's

Tateh's

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

Peter

Dennis

Tateh

Zaydeh
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 mirrors would shatter

That his ghost would haunt her

That the body would decay

That he was being buried alive
12 What did Ruth and her first husband find in Red Hook?

A Jewish school

A Baptist church

A homeless shelter

A day care center
13 What two things did Ruth emphasize to her children?

Church and success

Love and success

School and church

School and success
14 Why did James punch the boy on the bus?

Because he hated Black Panthers

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

Because the boy tried to steal his money

Because the boy teased him for having a white mother
15 Why were Tateh's contracts as a rabbi never renewed?

Because Tateh liked moving around

Because the synagogues usually had very little money

Because that was the norm

Because he was a lousy rabbi
16 In Suffolk, what business did Tateh start?

A newsstand

A grocery store

A beauty shop

A theater
17 What did Ruth call Tateh?

A turtle

A fox

A rat

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

Mameh

Dennis

God

James
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?

Like an apprentice

Like a slave

With indifference

With lavish pride
21 Where does Sam run away to?

New York

Chicago

Europe

Alaska
22 How does James describe the household in which he grew up?

As "subdued and at peace"

As "orchestrated chaos"

As "hellish"

As "a catastrophe for everyone"
23 Why is the eldest sibling so revered?

Because he is a writer

Because he threatens to beat them

Because he is musically gifted

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

The color of water

Gray

White