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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 Michael say his kites haven't flown?

2. Why does Rose say she has to leave the berry picking early?

3. What does Gerry Evans think Agnes should do for a living?

4. What role does Gerry Evans love to play?

5. Why is Kate offended at Uncle Jack's talk of multiple wives?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. How does the Industrial Revolution affect the lives of the Mundy sisters?

3. What has changed about Rose's appearance when she comes home from her meeting with Danny Bradley?

4. What phrase did Kate hit upon that comforted her as she tried to understand Uncle Jack's changed attitude toward life since his stay in Ryanda?

5. What does it tell you about Gerry Evans that he says he will check the ignition and sparking plugs of the radio?

6. What is Michael writing to ask Santa Claus to bring, and why is the gift he wants significant?

7. What do you make of the kites as a symbol or metaphor, and of the fact that they wouldn't fly?

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

9. How does Rose describe her encounter with Danny Bradley?

10. What does Uncle Jack reveal about his ministry in Ryanga when Kate asks if the people gather together for Mass?

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

Maggie asks riddles of young Michael, and he never offers any possible answers, even when she chides him for being stupid. In the end, she herself has forgotten the answer to the riddle she poses. Analyze the playwright's use of riddles in this way. What do you think he is trying to say about Maggie? About Michael? About life?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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