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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 attends Roxane throughout Scene 4?

2. Why, according to Cyrano, do the Spanish troops never notice when he crosses their lines?

3. Which of the following is not among the enemies Cyrano fights at the end of the play?

4. On what does Cyrano blame his fainting in Scene 5?

5. At the end of Scene 3, Carbon admonishes his men to respect de Guiche for what reason?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Cyrano in Scene 5.

2. What revenge does de Guiche take on Cyrano and Christian in Scene 14?

3. Why does Cyrano wait so long to tell Roxane the truth?

4. How does Roxane reason Cyrano's absence at his appointed time?

5. What lie does Cyrano tell Christian before he dies?

6. What secret does Cyrano tell Christian in Scene 7?

7. What offer does Christian make to Cyrano in Scene 9?

8. Why does Cyrano fear telling Roxane the truth regarding the letters?

9. Why are the troops starving at the beginning of Act 4?

10. In Scene 2, what news has de Guiche heard regarding Cyrano?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Roxane develops from a mere object of affection into a fully-dimensional strong-willed character. Chart this transition in an essay. How does Roxane appear in the first act of the play? Is her role active, or merely objective to male characters? By scene 4, how has she transformed herself? What bold actions does she undertake without assistance from others?

Essay Topic 2

Cyrano de Bergerac is a friend to the common man and a fierce enemy to hypocrisy and pompousness. Write an essay about his various successes in humbling the soft upper crust of Paris. What does he dislike about each of these adversaries? How does he humble them, and what are the consequences?

Part 1) Montfleury

Part 2) Valvert

Part 3) The Comte de Guiche in Act 4

Essay Topic 3

Cyrano de Bergerac is an individualist of the highest order. His sense of honor is self-contained, and he is unwilling to equivocate to appease a crowd. Write an essay about his willingness to make enemies in pursuit of honor:

Part 1) How does Cyrano place himself in conflict with virtually the entire city in the first act of the play? Why does he do this, and what does this say about him?

Part 2) Why does Cyrano turn down de Guiche's offer of patronage for his verses? What is the crux of his argument after the Comte storms out?

Part 3) Describe Cyrano's station in life at the end of the play? How is he regarded by both his friends and Paris as a whole? What is Rostand saying about the play of the good man in society?

(see the answer keys)

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