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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 does Eugene tell Carney he is afraid of?

2. Does Eugene have sex with the prostitute?

3. What does Eugene ask Epstein?

4. How does Toomey seem to make the boys feel?

5. Where is Arnold Epstein sleeping at the beginning of Act 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does it show about Carney's character that he talks to Eugene about what Eugene wrote?

2. How does the army find out the identity of the escaped soldier?

3. What happens when Toomey asks the guilty person to come forward?

4. Describe Rowena's personality.

5. How does Eugene convince Daisy to kiss him?

6. Who does Eugene talk to at the end of the scene, and why?

7. Why is everyone surprised about what Eugene has written about them?

8. What does Hennessey's fantasy say about his character?

9. What is Toomey's strategy for punishing Eugene for his answers?

10. What does Toomey want from the soldiers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

An "other" is someone who is different and becomes outcast. Discuss being different and the concept of the "other" in the play.

1) In what ways are each of the characters different and therefore outcast from the others? Which are outcasts in the culture of the army?

2) How do the characters react to the things that make other characters different? Do any of the characters relate their own status as "others" with ways in which others are also outcasts?

3) How does the idea of an outcast "other" relate to war? Who becomes the "other" during wartime, and how do the soldiers think and talk about this during the play?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss humor in the play.

1) How do the characters use humor in their interactions? How do they use humor as insults? How does humor form part of their friendship?

2) In what ways does the author use humor in the play? How does the author combine serious issues such as prejudice and war with humor?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss confrontation in the play.

1) Epstein isn't afraid to confront the other characters, while Eugene tends to be non-confrontational. Why do the two characters take these different attitudes? What are the dangers and benefits of Epstein and Eugene's attitudes toward confrontation?

2) Which of the soldiers are willing to be confrontational toward Toomey, in what circumstances, and why? What does this say about the soldiers?

3) How does being confrontational personally relate to one's ability to be a soldier in the play?

(see the answer keys)

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