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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 is unusual about the recruiter of which Gerry Evans learns as he writes his name?

2. Why does Rose laugh at Agnes while they are picking berries?

3. What popular song does Gerry Evans dance to with the sisters in Act 2?

4. When does Gerry Evans stop visiting the Mundys?

5. What does Chris think is wrong with the radio?

Short Essay Questions

1. What news does Rose bring her family about the boy who was burned during the Lughnasa fires?

2. The recruiter tells Gerry Evans that he is invaluable to the brigade because he is a master at disguising himself. How does this revelation relate to the false impression he has given to Gerry Evans?

3. What is it that Kate asks Uncle Jack to promise?

4. How did Michael behave as his father, Gerry Evans, had done?

5. Why does Gerry Evans decide to go to war in a foreign country?

6. There are important facts about the Spanish Civil War that Gerry Evans does not understand. One is that the Popular Front represents a Fascist, rather than a Republican, government. The other is that the Popular Front is anti-Catholic. How is this ignorance on his part ironic?

7. How does Rose trick Agnes and get away from her?

8. How does Maggie make a joke of the small amount of food they have?

9. When Uncle Jack hears wedding bells, he asks if it is one of his sisters who is getting married. Who is actually marrying?

10. Why did Kate believe Agnes could not work in a factory?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

When Rose is lost, the hierarchy within the group of sisters changes. Who is usually in charge and who takes over during the emergency? Using quotations from the play, explain this dynamic and tell why you think the change took place.

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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