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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. Blanche says before exiting upstairs in Act II, “For people like us, sometimes the only thing we really own is our” what?
(a) Dignity
(b) Privacy
(c) Sympathy
(d) Tolerance

2. Where is Eugene writing in his memoirs in the opening of Act II?
(a) In the basement
(b) In the attic
(c) In his room
(d) In the backyard

3. Kate tells Blanche she’ll find out for her how much whose house rents for in Act II?
(a) The Potoks’
(b) The Andersons’
(c) The Petermans’
(d) The Murphys’

4. What does Laurie say the person who gave her the letter offered for her to eat in Act II?
(a) A pound cake
(b) Bread
(c) A cookie
(d) Rotten candy

5. Where does Blanche say she knows a woman she can stay with while she looks for work in Act II?
(a) Coney Island
(b) Astoria, Queens
(c) The Bronx
(d) Manhattan Beach

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Eugene say his dad was doing at nights to try to earn extra money before his health collapsed in Act II?

2. What kind of ice cream does Laurie say she wants for dessert in Act II?

3. Who does Laurie decide her mother looks like before she leaves for her date in Act II?

4. What physical ailment has Jack suffered prior to the opening of Act II?

5. Before he leaves in Act II, Stanley tells Eugene, “If you ever write a story about me, call me” what?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does Stanley return home in Act II? Why does he decide to return?

2. Why do Jack and Kate Jerome argue in the beginning of Act II?

3. How does the relationship between Blanche and Kate evolve through the narrative?

4. Who has sent the letter with Laurie in Act II? What news does the letter relate?

5. How does Eugene respond to Stanley’s departure in Act II? Who does he go to talk to about the situation?

6. How is Brighton Beach Memoirs metaphorical for the onset of World War II?

7. What other plays are connected in the trilogy that includes Brighton Beach Memoirs?

8. What gift does Stanley give to Eugene in Act II? What is Eugene’s response?

9. What causes the initial conflict between Kate and Blanche in Act II?

10. How did critics respond to the original production of Brighton Beach Memoirs? How does the play fit in with Neil Simon’s body of works?

(see the answer keys)

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