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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. What famous instigator does Louis Ironson claim his grandmother saw speak?

2. To what philosopher does Louis compare his world-view when speaking to Rabbi Chemelwitz?

3. To what does Joe Pitt compare his heart in Act 2, Scene 9?

4. To what does Harper joke she will give birth in Act 2, Scene 2?

5. What bible story does Louis ask Joe to tell him in Act 3, Scene 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. What delusions become real for Harper in Act 3, Scene 3?

2. What does Roy have to say about a father's love in Act 2, Scene 4?

3. How does Louis' liaison with the Man in the Park end?

4. What revelation of Roy's past shocks Joe in Act 3, Scene 6?

5. Where is Roy the last time we see him in the play?

6. Why is Hannah lost in Act 3, Scene 4?

7. Describe Prior's appearance in Act 2.

8. What desperate question does Louis Ironson ask Rabbi Chemelwitz?

9. To what understanding concerning beliefs do Hannah and Prior come in Act 4, Scene 6?

10. How do people change, according to the Mormon Mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tony Kushner creates several prominent characters in the play that are not of this world. Each of these characters exists on a realm of being different from anyone else, even the other supernatural characters. Write an essay comparing three of these characters. Who are they and how have they manifested themselves onstage? With whom do they interact and what is the nature of this interaction? Are they benevolent? Violent?

Part 1) Mr. Lies

Part 2) Ethel Rosenberg

Part 3) The Angel

Essay Topic 2

Harper Pitt often communicated with people who are real but not presently in the room with her. In Kushner's world, her hallucinations provide her insight into absent people. Write an essay about three of these occasions. What does she learn from them? How do these experiences all fuel her paranoia and fear and make her feel more isolated?

Part 1) Her mutual dream with Prior in Millennium Approaches

Part 2) Joe Pitt's arrival in Antarctica in the beginning of Perestroika

Part 3) Joe and Louis's argument in the midst of the Diorama at the Mormon Visitor's Center

Essay Topic 3

Angels in America is a play about a world polluted by selfish acts and fear. In this diseased America, two figures emerge as healers and caretakers willing to sacrifice for others in need: Write an essay about these two characters.

Part 1) How does the character of Belize serve as a healing force in the darkest reaches of the play? Examine his relationships with Prior, Louis, and Roy Cohn to determine his beliefs regarding empathy and truth.

Part 2) How does the character of Hannah progress from a caricature to a fully developed and evolving person in the play? Who does she help over the course of Perestroika, and how does she defy the expectations of those around her?

Part 3) Write a summation regarding Hannah and Belize. What do these figures say about Kushner's sense of benevolence and truth in modern-day America?

(see the answer keys)

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