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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How is the lighting described in the beginning of Act 1, Scene 4?
(a) "Sunlight shines through the blinds."
(b) "A spotlight shines at the up-left area of the stage."
(c) "Blackness; then, a single flashlight appears upstage left."
(d) "Red and blue police flashers bounce light across the front porch."

2. Whom does Beverly quote with the line "Life is very long..." in the Prologue?
(a) T. S. Elliot.
(b) Edgar Allan Poe.
(c) Giacomo Leopardi
(d) Emily Dickinson.

3. Who accompanies Barbara when she comes downstairs when her mother is calling for her in the end of Act 1, Scene 4?
(a) Ivy and Karen.
(b) Steve and Karen.
(c) Mattie Fae and Charlie.
(d) Bill and Jean.

4. Who is the eldest of Beverly and Violet's children?
(a) Karen.
(b) Jean.
(c) Ivy.
(d) Barbara.

5. Who does Violet say was the only woman "pretty enough to go without makeup" in Act 1, Scene 1?
(a) Jean Harlowe.
(b) Bette Davis.
(c) Marilyn Monroe.
(d) Elizabeth Taylor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Charlie watching on television in Act 1, Scene 1?

2. Who is Ivy's former boyfriend that Violet calls a loser in Act 1, Scene 1?

3. What is the name of the book that Beverly wrote and published?

4. When was the photograph taken of Beverly and Violet in New York City that Mattie Fae looks at in Act 2?

5. What is the last thing that Barbara says to Bill before going to sleep in Act 1, Scene 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. What theme is predominant in Act 1, Scene 4? How is this theme developed in the scene?

2. What is the significance of Jean's partaking of marijuana in Act 1, Scene 2?

3. What theme is introduced in Act 1, Scene 1 of August: Osage County?

4. What literary allusions does Beverly Weston make in the play's Prologue?

5. How is the theme of interpersonal responsibilities illustrated in the beginning of Act 2?

6. What is significant about the conversation between Ivy and Violet in the beginning of Act 2?

7. How and why are Karen and Violet juxtaposed against one another in the beginning of Act 2?

8. What information is revealed in the Stage Directions in the beginning of the play?

9. What is significant about the revelations regarding Sheriff Gilbeau in Act 1, Scene 4?

10. What is the most important plot element that is revealed in Act 1, Scene 1?

(see the answer keys)

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