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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. What medication does Uncle Jack take?

2. Why don't the Mundys speak of Uncle Jack when he is a chaplain for the British army?

3. Where is Gerry Evans going?

4. What does Agnes call her sisters when they dance immodestly?

5. What worries Kate most about losing her job?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Maggie notice about the pack of cigarettes Kate brought her, and why is it significant?

2. What does Agnes mean when she asks Chris, "Do you want to make a pagan of yourself?"

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

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

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

6. Why do you think the playwright chose to have adult Michael speak the lines of child Michael instead of having two actors?

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

8. What significance does Austin Morgan have in this story?

9. What does Maggie recollect about Bernie?

10. Why does Chris call Danny Bradley a bastard?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What difference does the fate of the Sweeney boy, who was burned in the festival of Lughnasa, make to the story? Cite what was believed to have happened and what actually happened. Why do you think this detail is included in the play? Is the boy a metaphor? If so, what does he represent?

Essay Topic 2

Ceremonies are important in this story. Select two of the ceremonies that are described or enacted to compare and contrast. Possibilities might be the silent dance "wedding" of Chris and Gerry Evans, the exchange of hats between Uncle Jack and Gerry Evans, the wild Irish dancing of the five sisters, the Ryangan ceremonies to celebrate the harvest, or the festival of Lughnasa itself.

Essay Topic 3

The fox is an important metaphor in this play. If the family of women is the hen house, who is the fox? How many of the women have had unsuccessful relationships with men? List and explain each and develop your own thesis for why each situation ended unhappily.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 905 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample