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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. Where is Sandy at when Act 1, Scene 3 begins?

2. What happened with Heather's job after she was arrested?

3. How does Curt know Beth?

4. Does Sandy want to make an effort to change careers?

5. What will $100 buy Doug?

Short Essay Questions

1. Are there reasons in the play that indicate that Heather should have been fired from her job?

2. Why would Doug strip naked and just stand there waiting for Heather to come back?

3. Sandy gives Curt a special massage to try to ease his tension. What does Sandy do during the special massage?

4. Why would Heather offer more than just a massage to Doug?

5. Why did Sandy leave her mother's home at such a young age?

6. Why does Curt feel the need to have Sandy over to his apartment?

7. What makes Curt and Sandy's time together in Act 1, Scene 1, seem awkward?

8. Is there evidence in the play to support Beth's feelings about Curt spending time with Sandy?

9. Curt and Sandy talk about their lives a little bit. Does Curt seem to like his job? Why?

10. Is their evidence in Act 1, Scene 6, to support the fact that Sandy and Curt are attracted to each other as more than just friends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There is a large age difference between Curt and Sandy and Heather and Doug, and the 15-20 years between them doesn't seem to bother either couple.

1. What about the men makes it easy for them to date someone so young? Include examples from the book.

2. What about the women makes it easy for them to date someone so much older? Include examples from the book.

3. Did the author purposefully have the characters be so far apart in age? Why or why not? Would the play have had the same impact if the characters were closer in age? Why or why not? What about it would be different? What about it would be the same?

Essay Topic 2

The title of the play is "Blue Surge."

1. How is it an appropriate title for this play? Use examples to support.

2. Is it still an appropriate title when we meet the characters a year later? Why or why not? Use examples to support.

3. What would need to change in the play so that the title would no longer make sense?

Essay Topic 3

Curt is desperate to help Sandy have a different life and career even after she has told him that she doesn't want to change and has returned to prostitution. He thinks she does what she does because she has had a stroke of bad luck but can change things for the better.

1. Is Sandy a prostitute because she has had bad luck? What luck has caused her to travel down the road of prostitution? Does she ever show any desire to be something else? Use examples from the play to support.

2. What is Curt's motivation behind his desperate attempt to get her out of prostitution? Is he selfless or selfish? Have examples from the book to support.

3. Could Sandy change her lifestyle if she wanted to? What are some things that Sandy would be able to do that would earn her as much money? Be sure to support your answers with examples from the play.

(see the answer keys)

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