View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Brighton Beach is located in what borough of New York City?

2. What kind of bread does Eugene’s mother tell him to get at the store in Act I?

3. What does Kate tell Eugene to place at the dinner table when she tells him to stop playing baseball in the beginning of Act I?

4. At what theater does Nora say she has to go to in order to audition for the Broadway musical in Act I?

5. What does Nora say will be on the stage in the Broadway musical she wants to be in, in Act I?

Short Essay Questions

1. What conversation do Jack and Stanley have at bedtime in Act I?

2. What decision does Stanley reach regarding his job in Act I? How does Eugene help him?

3. What dream does Eugene describe to Stanley in Act I? What is Stanley’s response?

4. How does Blanche Morton respond to the news that Nora Morton relates to the family before dinner in Act I?

5. How does the historical context of the play relate to its themes?

6. What are Eugene’s principle concerns in Act I? How does his character evolve in the narrative?

7. What comprises the second floor of the Jerome house, according to the stage directions in Act I? How is the setting related to the themes in the play?

8. How would you describe Eugene’s relationship with his family in Act I?

9. How is the Jerome house described in the stage directions for Act I? What comprises the first floor of the house?

10. What news does Stanley relate to Eugene in their room before dinner in Act I?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the setting of the play. Examine the year in which the play is set, the location in New York of the Jerome household, and the political, international, and economic atmosphere of this setting. When did the Great Depression begin? What brought about the end of the Great Depression?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the playwright’s allusions to Broadway in Brighton Beach Memoirs. How many musicals were produced on Broadway in 1937? What were these musicals like? What musical does Nora want to audition for?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the theme of honesty versus dishonesty in the narrative. Why do you think Kate encourages Stanley to lie about having lost the money in a poker game? Would this suggestion be brought about under different circumstances? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 869 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample