View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What commodity did Prior's ship captain ancestor bring to England?

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

3. Which of the following is not a prediction Harper makes about the coming of the Millennium?

4. According to Rabbi Chemelwitz, what do Jews believe in concerning sin?

5. What does Harper threaten to do if Joe walks out on her in Act 1, Scene 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Hannah Pitt react to Joe's late night call to her?

2. Why does Harper long for the end of days?

3. How does Belize secure some of Roy's AZT in Act 3, Scene 2?

4. What diagnosis does Roy demand of his doctor in Act 1, Scene 9, and why?

5. What does Prior determine about Louis in Act 2, Scene 9?

6. What message does Sarah Ironson give Prior Walter Act 5, Scene 6?

7. Why does Belize want Louis to say Kaddish over Roy's body?

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

9. Describe the interchange between Henry and Belize in Act 1, Scene 4?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A central theme of Angels in America is migration. Write an essay on one of the following prompts regarding this theme:

1.) The play opens with a eulogy for Sarah Ironson delivered by Rabbi Chemelwitz. The subject of the eulogy is the migration immigrants like Sarah took, carrying their culture with them. Compare in an essay the sentiments Chemelwitz espouses with the sentiments Louis later states in his first scene with Belize. What do they say about immigrant populations? About the spiritual past of America?

2.) When the Angel finally appears to Prior at the end of Millennium Approaches, she carries with her a message from Heaven. Write an essay about this message and its relation to the theme of migration. How does Prior's decision to renounce his calling reflect Kushner's thoughts on migration?

3.) By the end of the play, two characters have found deep fulfillment by traveling far from their long-time home: Hannah and Harper. Write an essay comparing these two women's journeys. What drives them from home? What do they hope to find on the other side?

Essay Topic 2

Tony Kushner sets Angels in America during the high-water mark of the Reagan era, when the pursuit of individual success was a central focus in America. Write an essay about Kushner's depiction of the destructiveness of self-interest focusing on three characters:

Part 1) How is the character of Roy Cohn the antithesis of the communitarian worldview? What does he attempt to espouse to the two men he befriends: Joe and Belize? Cite specific statements he makes during the play.

Part 2) How is Joe Pitt a worthy disciple to Roy Cohn's worldview? How does his coming out to Louis and Harper prove to be intensely self-interested? What prevents him from fully enjoying his happiness?

Part 3) To what extent does Joe attempt to win Louis over to the idea that self-interested is the best a person can be? How does Louis react to this, and what happens to the relationship as a result?

Essay Topic 3

Roy Cohn tells Belize that he can get anyone to do anything for him, but in the beginning of Angels in America he uses deception to try and convince Joe Pitt to do him a favor. Analyze the reason for this deception in an essay in three parts:

Part 1) In the first act of Millennium Approaches, how does Roy present the job opportunity to Joe Pitt? Why should Joe take the job and why is Roy offering it to him?

Part 2) When Martin Heller speaks to Joe Pitt speaks to Joe about joining the Justice Department, what does he talk about? What is the Reagan administration's plan for Justice? How is this supposed to appeal to Joe and convince him to take the job?

Part 3) What is the actual reason that Roy needs Joe Pitt in Justice? When does he decide to tell him the truth? What does this say of Roy's opinion of Joe?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,228 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample