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

Short Answer Questions

1. In Act II, Vladimir tells Estragon that if he will help him pick up Pozzo, they will go together to

2. Who does the boy ask for in Act 1?

3. Estragon tells Vladimir he threw his boots away the day before. Vladimir shows him his boots. Estragon

4. Throughout the dialogue in Act II, Estragon and Vladimir are doing their best to keep talking so they don't

5. Upon his return, Pozzo wants to know if Estragon and Vladimir are

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How well do you think Beckett's play, "Waiting for Godot," would work as a radio play? Is it critical for the play to be seen, or is it powerful enough to carry Beckett's message with sound alone. Keep in mind Beckett's use of silence (stage directions showing delayed responses) and how that would work on the radio as well as the few things that Beckett does make use of like the tree, the moon, changes in lighting, the hats, Estragon's boots, etc.

Essay Topic 2

Estragon is beaten during the two nights the play covers. He seems to accept the beatings as a part of life. What do you think Beckett was trying to say? Keep in mind that when Vladimir tells Estragon he would have stopped the beating, he doesn't mean that he would have stopped the people who beat Estragon, but that he would stop Estragon from doing whatever he had done to antagonize those who beat him.

Essay Topic 3

Beckett has very few stage directions. He makes a point of describing the rising of the moon. He could have simply relied on a darkening stage to show the coming of night, but he describes the role of the moon. Why might he have done that? How does it contribute to the feeling of the play at that point? How do the stage directions that Beckett did include contribute to the play? Cite specific examples.

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