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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. In The Lesson, the professor says that a bad what can get you into trouble?

2. What is the fire chief wearing in The Bald Soprano?

3. Who tells about seeing a man tying his shoes in the street in The Bald Soprano?

4. When the pupil begins to seem ill, what does she say is wrong with her?

5. Who, in the course of The Lesson, loses gaiety to become withdrawn and morose?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the fire chief's arrival in The Bald Soprano.

2. What is notable about the title of The Bald Soprano?

3. What is the beginning conversation between the Smiths and the Martins like?

4. What is similar about The Bald Soprano to the other plays in the book?

5. What does the ending of The Bald Soprano mean?

6. How is The Lesson absurd? How is it realistic?

7. What do the Smiths and Martins do after the fire chief has left?

8. What is Absurdism and how does it inhabit the four plays of the book?

9. Describe the doorbell in The Bald Soprano.

10. How does the professor attempt to teach the pupil arithmetic?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the use of invisible versus real objects in the play The Lesson. What is the significance of each?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Absurdism and how it applies to all four plays from the collection.

Essay Topic 3

What is the author's overall message in these plays? What does this have to do with Absurdism and Existentialism? What is Ionesco's philosophy on life and its meaning?

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