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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 Kate tell Laurie she’s made for dinner tonight in the beginning of Act II?

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

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

4. Laurie first says that her mother looks like what movie star when she descends the stairs for her date in Act II?

5. Kate tells Blanche she’ll find out for her how much whose house rents for in Act II?

Short Essay Questions

1. What news does Stanley relate to Eugene in their room in the beginning of Act II?

2. How is Blanche’s appearance described when she enters in Act II? What causes tension in this scene regarding Stanley’s income?

3. How effective was Neil Simon in integrating drama and comedy in his writing of Brighton Beach Memoirs?

4. How does the conflict escalate between Kate and Blanche in Act II?

5. What have been perceived as the weaknesses of the narrator in Brighton Beach Memoirs?

6. How would you describe the character of Jack Jerome in Brighton Beach Memoirs?

7. What news does Jack Jerome receive via a letter in the mail in Act II?

8. Why does Stanley decide to leave home in Act II? What does he ask Eugene for before he goes?

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

10. How much time passes between the end of Act I and the opening of Act II? How has the household changed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Stanley’s decision to write a letter of apology to get his job back at the end of Act I. What does this action mean in terms of Stanley’s ethics? Would you make the same decision? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Describe and discuss the financial atmosphere of the Jerome household as depicted in Act I. How many jobs do each of the family members work? How easily are their expenses met? Why are finances a central point of concern in the family?

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This section contains 870 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample