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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. Who does Orin resemble as he walks up the driveway as he returns from the war?

2. How many years is Seth with the Mannon family?

3. Who does Ezra point an accusing finger at as he is dying?

4. Who is the lover that Christine says Lavinia is waiting for in Play One, Act Three?

5. Where is Orin wounded in the war?

Short Essay Questions

1. What plans do Christine and Brant make when she comes to see him on his ship?

2. Why is Christine able to bond with Orin and not Lavinia?

3. What is remarkable about Lavinia's appearance in the third play?

4. Describe Christine and Orin's reunion.

5. What causes Ezra to have a heart attack the morning after he returns from the war?

6. What about Christine surprises Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Hills?

7. How does Lavinia begin to change Orin's mind about their mother's innocence?

8. What is Lavinia's fate?

9. What news does Peter share with Lavinia in Act One, Scene One of Homecoming?

10. Why is Orin surprised by Christine's obvious grief over Brant's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Peter and Hazel to Orin and Lavinia. What does the start differences in these character types illustrate in the play?

Essay Topic 2

How do Orin and Lavinia begin to resemble their parents, not only in appearance, but in the very words they speak by the end of the play? What are the thematic implications of this metamorphosis?

Essay Topic 3

What kind of demands on the audience does Mourning Becomes Electra make? Discuss the structure, length and emotional weight of the play.

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