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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. According to Bentley, what event in Wedekind's life influences the plot of A Children's Tragedy?

2. Why does Wendla complain about her new dress?

3. According to the masked man, what is morality?

4. What theatrical genre is combined with tragedy as part of this play's complexity?

5. What did people find so offensive about A Children's Tragedy when it was first written?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is pointed out to Moritz in Act I, scene 4 that deflates his happiness?

2. What are some of the main philosophical influences and allusions in A Children's Tragedy?

3. How was "Spring Awakening" treated in Germany during both World Wars?

4. Why does Wendla fantasize about being beaten? How does she handle it?

5. Describe the main theme of one of the characters that is pointed out as being a philosophy of Goethe.

6. What is significant about the number sixty in relation to Moritz?

7. Why does Moritz not want to listen to Melchior's explanations about sex?

8. In the introduction, why is this play deemed as widely disliked by feminists?

9. What thought does Wendla have that offends her mother? Where does it come from?

10. What startling admission does Moritz give in Act I, Scene 4? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is significant about Melchior's fascination with Goethe and his presentation of "Faust?" Why should Mrs. Gabor express concern over her son reading "Faust?" How does the story of Faust mirror Melchior's story? How is Goethe's philosophy seen in Melchior's belief system? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the following topics to write about:

- The significance of Ina having had three children in two years of marriage and Mrs. Bergmann's refusal to explain sex to her daughters.

- Moritz's relationship with Ilse.

- The reformatory students in contrast to Melchior.

Essay Topic 3

Pick one of the following topics to write about:

- The father-son dynamic of both the playwright and the play.

- Eros and Thanatos.

- Expressionism and Realism in Spring Awakening: A Children's Tragedy.

(see the answer keys)

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