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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 word does Barbara use in Act 3, Scene 4 to mean not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings?

2. Who is the man that Ivy is involved with romantically?

3. Where does Barbara say her husband and daughter have gone in Act 3, Scene 4?

4. What does Steve claim he was doing when he was Jean's age in Act 2?

5. How does Barbara describe her daughter when talking to Sheriff Gilbeau in Act 3, Scene 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you describe Mattie Fae Aiken's character?

2. What is the violence in Acts 2 and 3 representative of thematically?

3. How does Johnna respond to Barbara when they discuss Johnna's employment in Act 3, Scene 3?

4. What conversation takes place between Charlie and Mattie Fae when they are left alone in Act 3, Scene 1?

5. How does Violet feel about her circumstances in Act 3, Scene 5?

6. What is the significance of Violet's story about the boots in Act 3, Scene 1?

7. What leads up to the physical conflict in the end of Act 2? How is this conflict described?

8. What is the significance of the house's temperature in Act 2?

9. What does Sheriff Gilbeau reveal to Barbara in Act 3, Scene 4?

10. What is ironic about Karen's discussion of the past in Act 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the plot structure of August: Osage County. Where in the narrative does the exposition transition to rising action? Where does the climax occur? What information is revealed in the falling action and denouement of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the parent/child relationships in August: Osage County. How would you describe the different mother/daughter relationships in the play? How would you describe the father/son relationships? What symbolism in the narrative relates to this theme?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characters of Violet and Barbara in August: Osage County. In what ways is Barbara like her mother? How is she different? How does the relationship between these characters change in the course of the play?

(see the answer keys)

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