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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. What has been offered to past political criminals?

2. What does Paulina "slyly" mention?

3. What happens to many students when the military was in control of the country?

4. What does Gerardo's wife ask him?

5. What is heard from Roberto's room?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Gerard doing with Paulina on the patio at the beginning of Act 3, Scene 1, that she had started before and what interrupted them before?

2. What is the purpose of the commission the government is forming?

3. What kind of position has Gerardo been offered and what does he say about it?

4. What does Paulina say to Roberto about breakfast?

5. What does Gerardo tell Paulina was missing from his car and what does she say?

6. Why do you think Act 1, Scene 3 has no dialogue?

7. Why was the doctor involved with torture?

8. What does the audience hear from the room where Paulina went?

9. What does Roberto tell Gerardo about his stopping at their house?

10. What happens after Paulina and Gerardo have had dinner the night he caught a ride home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As Paulina pays for some candy at the concert, Roberto enters. According to the stage direction, he may be real, or just in Paulina's head.

1. Do you think Roberto is there or that Paulina killed him? Why or why not?

2. If Paulina killed him, why do you think she would see him at a concert that played Schubert's Death and the Maiden?

3. Do you think it is more likely that Roberto is at the concert or that Paulina is insane? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

By the end of Act 1, Scene 3, assuming we don't already know the story, we know that Paulina is either crazy or desperate. Perhaps it is a combination of both.

1. Do you think Paulina is crazy? Why or why not? Support your answer with examples from the text.

2. Do you think a person can be crazy and still live as normally as Paulina lives? Why or why not?

3. Why might desperation look like mental illness? Use examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Act 1, Scene 3, is an extremely brief scene without dialog, written all in stage directions. The stage is darker still, when a cloud has passed over the moon.

1. Why do you think a writer would have a scene without dialog? Use examples to support your answer.

2. What symbolism do you see in the darkness of the stage? Use examples from the play to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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