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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. How long has Gerry Evans been away?

2. How does Chris heat the iron for their clothes?

3. What does the storekeeper say the Mundys go through faster than anyone in Ballybeg?

4. What does Danny Bradley call Rose?

5. What gift does Danny Bradley give Rose for Christmas?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think Rose can describe the Festival of Lughnasa to her sisters?

2. Why do you think the opening tableau shows Uncle Jack in his "resplendent" uniform, which is out of place in the play's action?

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

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

5. The song Maggie sings says that if the Irish don't vote for De Valera, they'll be like Gandhi and his goat. What does this mean?

6. What is significant about the names Nora and Nina that Bernie O'Donnell gave to her twin daughters?

7. How does Kate explain Uncle Jack's strange behavior?

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

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

10. What reasons does Kate use for refusing to go to the harvest dance?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The music of the 1930s has an important role in this play, as it had on the characters' lives. Analyze what you think the playwright was showing us, the audience, with the use of "Anything Goes" and "Dancing in the Dark." Listen to these once-popular songs on the Internet before writing about them, as a great deal more than the title is to be learned from them.

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

Dancing is a central metaphor in this play, and Michael ends the play with a monologue about what dance meant to him. Compare and contrast the effects of dance on him as a boy, when he is frightened by the wild, strange behavior of his family members as they dance, with his reflections on dance at the end of the play.

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This section contains 955 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample