View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How often has Ann written her father since he's been in prison?

2. Who arrived in town yesterday to stay with the Kellers?

3. What is George Deever's profession?

4. What object is Frank Lubey carrying when he talks to Ann in Act 1?

5. What is the current name of Joe Keller's business?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Joe and Kate Keller's concern about George Deever coming to their house?

2. Describe the dream that Kate had the night before the play begins.

3. What is the thrust of Chris's final argument to his father?

4. What statement destroys the good will building between George and Joe?

5. What is the significance of the fallen tree in the Kellers' yard?

6. Describe Frank Lubey and Ann's interchange.

7. What promise does Chris make Ann after proposing, and how does this promise relate to his omnipresent guilt?

8. What does Bert report to Joe Keller in Act 1?

9. What is Kate's concern about Ann?

10. What is strange about George being in Columbus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Arthur Miller is known for his assertion that the everyday carries with it the seeds of drama. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the first act of All My Sons. Write an essay examining the small talk of this act and the revelations about the neighbors that come later, citing three specific examples of each.

Essay Topic 2

Characters in All My Sons make frequent reference to the supernatural in the play, as if there were an otherworldly hand guiding their daily actions. Write an essay in the following three parts:

Part 1) Examine how the destruction of Larry's tree - and the dream that surrounds its destruction - affects Kate Keller's world. What significance does she assign to it?

Part 2) What is Frank Lubey's world view, and how is it the result of the life he has lived to this point in his life?

Part 3) What does Jim Bayliss have to say about the nature of fate and the stars in the third act? How is it a refutation of the ideas of both Frank Lubey and Kate Keller?

Essay Topic 3

Joe Keller is a tragic figure because he wants to achieve one thing and succeeds in achieving its opposite. Write an essay on this topic, examining his intentions and what they ultimately yield. Cite specific examples from the text to corroborate your points. Is failing to get what you want always a tragic thing?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 901 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample