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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. Which of the sisters is the most graceful dancer?

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

3. Why is Michael disappointed in Uncle Jack?

4. What worries Kate most about losing her job?

5. How does Kate identify Gerry Evans?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Maggie recollect about Bernie?

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. After Agnes blows Michael a kiss, she says it was the wrong thing to do. Why would it be the wrong thing to do?

4. Why does Chris call Danny Bradley a bastard?

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

6. When Irish music comes from the radio, which of the sisters begins to dance first, and in what mood does she dance?

7. We as readers are told that Rose is "simple." How does the playwright make that clear to the audience?

8. 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?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Rose is described as "simple," yet she is the one who informs the family about goings-on in the village and in the world around them. How do you imagine that she gets this information, and what does it tell you about her and the way the family views her? Use examples from the play to explore Rose's character. Do her sisters understand her? Does she understand them? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The passage of time is a theme in this story. When Maggie says, "Lughnasa's almost over, girls. There aren't going to be many warm evenings left." She may be talking of more than the weather for that season. Based on what you learn of future events, what are the "warm evenings," and how are they lost?

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