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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. Why does Rose dance in wellingtons?

2. What does Chris want Michael to believe about his father?

3. What do the back hills people do to celebrate Lughnasa?

4. Who is the joker of the Mundy family?

5. What does Maggie like to ask Michael?

Short Essay Questions

1. How far do the Mundys live from the rest of the village, and what significance is there in that distance?

2. How does Kate feel about Michael, and how can you tell?

3. What does Maggie mean when she tells Michael that someday he's going to fill some woman's life with happiness?

4. From what does Kate struggle to protect her home when they joke about naming the radio?

5. What is the difference between the way Kate dances and the dance of the other sisters?

6. For what is the fox in the hen house a metaphor?

7. Why do you think young Michael felt unease rather than amusement or joy when his mother and aunts danced?

8. What is Maggie's reaction to hearing that her old friend Bernie O'Donnell is in town, and why does she react this way?

9. What does Maggie release for Michael to see?

10. How has Chris brought shame upon the Mundy family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze what it means to you that young Michael's kites have faces that are cruel and grinning, and that they are not able to fly. Why do you think the playwright put this element into his play? What do these kites tell you about young Michael's feelings toward the women in his family? Toward life in general?

Essay Topic 2

The radio, "Marconi," has "killed all Christian conversation in this country," according to Kate. It has certainly had a powerful effect on the lives of the Mundy family. Analyze the effect of the radio on the lives of this family. Use examples from the script in your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

The playwright, Brian Friel, uses the character Michael to tell the audience the eventual fate of the characters before the play itself is finished. How did knowing where the characters' actions would lead them affect you as a reader? Did you find it an effective dramatic device?

(see the answer keys)

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