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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. According to the masked man, what is morality?

2. According to Moritz, what is designed to flunk out the students at their school?

3. What fantasy does Wendla admit to having to Melchior?

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

5. How does Moritz react when being told about sex?

Short Essay Questions

1. What appears to be a key difference between Melchior and Moritz in their first scene together?

2. What is pointed out to Moritz in Act I, scene 4 that deflates his happiness?

3. What does Moritz reveal himself completely ignorant about in Act I, Scene 2?

4. How was "Spring Awakening" treated in Germany during both World Wars?

5. What startling admission does Moritz give in Act I, Scene 4? Why?

6. What is Wendla's attitude about her old dress and new dress in the beginning of the play?

7. What are some of the main philosophical influences and allusions in A Children's Tragedy?

8. Why was this play frequently repressed after the initial publication?

9. How do Mrs. Bergmann and Wendla deal with the girl's maturation in Act I, Scene 1?

10. How does this play fit into both genres of expressionism and realism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Wedekind intertwine sex and violence? How is this a theme of the play? What characters appear to embody this idea? How does Goethe's "Faust" relate to this? How is this enacted on stage? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the following topics to write about:

- The significance of Ina having had three children in two years of marriage and Mrs. Bergmann's refusal to explain sex to her daughters.

- Moritz's relationship with Ilse.

- The reformatory students in contrast to Melchior.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characters of Wendla and Ilse. How does knowledge affect both girls? How is Ilse freer than Wendla? Conversely, how is Wendla freer than Ilse? What is the significance of Wendla being raped and Ilse sleeping freely with her artists?

(see the answer keys)

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