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. Why does Ermina’s leg shake?

2. Why does Lily ask Godfrey to get her bags?

3. What did Godfrey drink that got him really drunk?

4. What does Godfrey repeatedly tell Ernestine and Ermina to do in Act One, Scene 4?

5. On what setting does Act One, Scene 4, open?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ernestine imagine her apology to the school?

2. How does the death of their mother affect the family before the move to New York?

3. What is Lily’s behavior like at the beginning of Act One, Scene 4?

4. Why does Ernestine express surprise that Lily is her mother’s sister?

5. Why does Lily accuse Godfrey of jealousy?

6. How does Ernestine say the other children in school treat her and her sister Ermina and why?

7. What is Godfrey and Lily’s conflict about drinking?

8. Why does Father Divine give the Crump family nicknames?

9. What are Sundays like in the Crump household?

10. What does Godfrey not like about Ernestine and Ermina visiting the Levys?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After the death of their mother, Ernestine and Ermina as left without a key authority figure at a critical time in their development, and both Lily and Gerte strive to step into the void left by Sandra, while the father struggles to manage as a single parent of two girls at a crucial stage. Write an essay examining the role that parenting plays in the play.

Essay Topic 2

The character of Lily is described in the play’s notes as a “non-conformist” and a “dangerous woman” (14). An unashamed smoker and drinker who parties with men, Lily is probably most dangerous in her influence on the vulnerable Crump girls. Write an essay examining the character of Lily as a “dangerous woman” (14).

Essay Topic 3

One of the central characters, Ernestine, has an obsession with Hollywood and movies and regularly blurs the lines between fantasy and reality with imagined asides. Write an essay examining the role that arts and entertainment play in the play.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 727 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample