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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. Who is Agnes's sister?

2. What does Agnes vow to get from Julia?

3. Why does Agnes ask Tobias to speak to Julia and her husband?

4. Why can Agnes not go mad?

5. Who leaves the room during a conversation?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Agnes and Tobias's main points when considering whether or not to ask Harry and Edna to leave?

2. What insight does Agnes share with Tobias regarding his role in Julia's irresponsible behavior?

3. What is the setting for Act 3 and which characters are present as the scene opens?

4. What role does Agnes feel she has in Julia's continuing disappointments?

5. How does Claire retaliate against Tobias for asking her about Alcoholics Anonymous?

6. Who does Julia direct her anger toward next?

7. How does Agnes distance herself from the responsibility of how to manage the people in the house?

8. How does Tobias respond when Julia picks on him?

9. What temporarily buoys the spirits of the people in the living room?

10. What shocking news does Harry share with Tobias in private?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The play seems to come full circle from Agnes's musings about going mad in the beginning of the play, to the end where Agnes says that people sleep at night because they are afraid of the darkness. ''They say we sleep to let the demons out--to let the mind go raving mad. . . . And when the daylight comes again . . . comes order with it.'' Is Agnes satisfied with the order of things as the play ends? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the significance of the play's title. What did the author mean by calling the play A DELICATE BALANCE? Cite an example to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Alcohol abuse seems to be an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive is the abuse? Why does it have such a prevalent place in the characters' lives? How does it affect the abusers? How does it affect those impacted by the abusers? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

(see the answer keys)

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