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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 Curt tell Sandy about his feelings over losing Beth?

2. In Act 2, Scene 5, what does Curt want Sandy to do with what he gives her?

3. How does Curt respond to Sandy's reasoning in Act 2, Scene 2?

4. In Act 2, Scene 3, what does Curt say is the reason he likes being with Sandy?

5. What does Curt say in Act 1, Scene 8, that Sandy interprets as the meanest thing anyone has ever said to her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Sandy go to for help before returning to her apartment to find the padlocked door in Act 2, Scene 2? What happens when she gets there?

2. What does Beth tell Curt in Act 2, Scene 3, that he needs to do regarding his childhood? Is there any evidence from the play to support her suggestion?

3. In Act 2, Scene 4, what does Curt tell Doug is the reason that makes it so easy for Curt and Beth to end a four-year relationship?

4. In Act 2, Scene 4, why is Curt so upset about the raid?

5. Sandy's mother has been married five times. Why was the death of one of those husbands so upsetting to her?

6. Is there evidence in the play to support Doug's feeling that Heather might be faking her interest in him?

7. Based on the description of the Act 2, Scene 1, setting, what can we assume about Curt and Sandy's sleeping arrangements?

8. Is there evidence in Act 2,Scene 1, to justify Beth being upset that Sandy is wearing Curt's clothes and has obviously been sleeping at the apartment?

9. At the end of Act 1, Scene 8, what made Sandy change her mind about letting Curt help her find a new job?

10. How does Curt upset Sandy in Act 1, Scene 8? Is there evidence in the same scene that Curt's intentions weren't to hurt her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Each piece of literature has a theme.

1. What does theme mean?

2. What is the theme of "Blue Surge"? Use examples from the play to support.

3. Was Gilman affective in portraying her theme? Is there anything she could have done differently that would have impacted the theme in a positive way? What would have impacted the theme in a negative way? Use examples from the play to support.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Curt and Sandy both had difficult childhoods.

1. Is Sandy a prostitute because of her upbringing? Would she have been a prostitute regardless of past?

2. Did Curt steal the money because his father was a robber? Would he have stolen that money regardless of his father's influence?

3. Are the other characters in the play a product of their parents' upbringing? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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