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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. Who is Taylor's occupation?

2. What does Weston tell Wesley to give the animal in the kitchen?

3. What leads to dying, according to Emma?

4. What does Ella have in her hand when she enters in Act One?

5. Who almost kills Emma?

Short Essay Questions

1. What idea does Weston bring up in Act Three?

2. What is Emma doing at the beginning of Act Two?

3. Describe the setting of Act One.

4. Where is Ella when she comes back to the house in Act Three?

5. What is Weston doing at the beginning of Act Three?

6. How does Weston feel connected to the rest of his family in Act Three?

7. Why do Ella and Emma argue about belonging to the "starving class" in Act One?

8. How does Emma fit into her picture of Taylor and Ella in Mexico?

9. Where does Emma says she is going to go when she plans to leave the house in Act One?

10. Why does Ella tell Wesley he should not be cleaning up the debris?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of the play, Wesley begins to assume his father's personality and role by changing into his clothes and taking on his father's earlier attitude. Describe Wesley's transformation throughout the play, starting at the beginning when he is worried about the family and his father's reactions to the end where he takes on more of his father's personality than his own. Use specific examples from the play in the response.

Essay Topic 2

In addition to the play occurring mostly in the Tate's kitchen, the refrigerator almost becomes another character in the play. Explore the role the refrigerator plays in the story. How does the refrigerator's presence influence the characters and the play's events? What does the refrigerator symbolize? How is the refrigerator involved in the events of the play that help make it "character-like"? Use specific examples from the text in the response.

Essay Topic 3

Knowing that "Curse of the Starving Class" is one of Sam Shepard's family tragedy plays, explore the statement the playwright is making about family in the play. What does Shepard want the audience and reader to understand and learn about family? How does Shepard use the Tate family's dynamics to make a larger statement on family relationships and dynamics in general? Use specific examples from the text in the response.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 884 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample