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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is Mrs. Bergmann concerned about Wendla's dress?
(a) It is too shapeless on her.
(b) It is too short for her.
(c) It is too long on her.
(d) It is too adult for her.

2. What does Mrs. Bergmann wonder about Wendla in the first scene?
(a) She wonders what Wendla will look like in a few years.
(b) She wonders what sort of mother Wendla will make.
(c) She wonders if Wendla will survive her adolescence.
(d) She wonders if Wendla is aware of her changing body.

3. What are Melchior, Moritz, and the boys doing outside in Act 1, Scene 2?
(a) Singing.
(b) Digging holes.
(c) Playing.
(d) Studying.

4. What is a Moritat?
(a) A short poem.
(b) A short statement.
(c) A postscript.
(d) A story written backwards.

5. Who is the author of the introduction to the play?
(a) Eric Bentley.
(b) Noel Coward.
(c) Antonin Artaud.
(d) Frank Wedekind.

6. According to Moritz, what is designed to flunk out the students at their school?
(a) Exams.
(b) The tardiness policy.
(c) Personality tests.
(d) The absence policy.

7. Who does Bentley believe is the inspiration for the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Gabor?
(a) The prime minister and his wife.
(b) The parents of Wedekind's girlfriend.
(c) Wedekind's parents.
(d) Wedekind's siblings.

8. What is interesting about realism and expressionism in regards to this play?
(a) The play makes a clear stand against expressionism.
(b) The play mixes both of them together.
(c) The play makes a clear stand against realism.
(d) The play ignores both styles and mocks them in absurdism.

9. Why does Wendla die?
(a) Suicide.
(b) Abortion pills.
(c) She is taken into custody and dies in prison.
(d) She is murdered to cover up her rape.

10. What is one of the first things presented in the introduction?
(a) A pie chart depicting the average number of sexually active teenagers.
(b) A timeline of the play's publication and productions.
(c) A graph showing the correlation between sexual activity and suicide.
(d) A timeline of Wedekind's life with emphasis on events that inspired A Children's Tragedy.

11. What was the result of Wedekind's conflicts while writing?
(a) He moved into a commune for artists.
(b) He left the country.
(c) He left home.
(d) He left his position within the government.

12. How is Wendla's body, in terms of maturation?
(a) Matronly.
(b) Well-developed.
(c) Very under-developed.
(d) Slightly below average.

13. Despite the complexity of A Children's Tragedy what striking aspect is the most widely known about this play?
(a) The complexity of the characters.
(b) The sexual content.
(c) The suicide.
(d) The political undertones.

14. How does Melchior feel about people who end up in Hell because they do not enjoy visiting the poor?
(a) It is through no fault of their own.
(b) It is entirely their fault.
(c) It is society's fault for putting the pressure on them.
(d) It is the Church's fault.

15. Because of the objectionable content of the play, what did Wedekind have to do for the play to be printed?
(a) Pay for publication himself.
(b) Marry the daughter of a publisher.
(c) Write out every script used for the first performance.
(d) Agree to a free commission of another play for the publisher.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Moritz discover the information in Act 1, Scene 4 that cheers him up?

2. According to Bentley's analysis, who may NOT be the masked figure at the end of the play?

3. In what form does the play begin?

4. With whom was Wedekind finding conflict while writing his play?

5. What is Melchior's relationship to Moritz?

(see the answer keys)

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