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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. With whom does the person in #67 pick fights?

2. When does Agnes plan to speak to Julia?

3. Who enters the room and joins in the current conversation?

4. According to Agnes, if you can entertain the idea of going mad, ________________________________.

5. Tobias recalls ______________ who stopped loving him.

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Edna retaliate against Julia for her rude behavior?

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

3. How does Claire respond to Tobias asking her about Alcoholics Anonymous?

4. What is the topic that Agnes ponders out loud?

5. What does Agnes feel about Claire and how is that reflected in their communications?

6. What special quality does Agnes feel she has regarding the family?

7. How does Julia serve as the tipping point for Tobias's tolerance?

8. How old are Agnes and Tobias?

9. Why are Tobias and Agnes pleased to have Harry and Edna leave their home in the end?

10. What is the simile that Tobias uses to describe Julia's marriages?

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

The author uses some important instances of flashbacks in the story. Explain what a flashback is and cite at least two making sure to explain what makes each a flashback.

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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