The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel Short Essay Answer Key

Short Essay Answer Key

1. How are the opening scenes of this play different than others? Plot-wise, hypothesize over the purpose of this style of opening.

The play's structure and movement back and forth through time defines its meaning through juxtaposition, rather than straightforward narration. Scenes take place in different time frames, different places, and even on different planes of existence (such as Pavlo being alive or Pavlo being dead). This narrative structure is the key component of the play's style, a disjointed and fragmentary work in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts. In other words, what we're watching is a theatrical collage, snapshots of life woven together to create a full picture. Perhaps this style of plot is used in order to shine a stronger and more focused light on the only consistent aspect throughout the settings: Pavlo Hummel.

2. Using the fragmentary nature...
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