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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What is communicated in a letter received by the police?
2. Why is Dan outraged?
3. Who shows up at the door after Dan leaves?
4. Why does Dan put on an act when he arrives home?
5. What has the police department be ordered to do?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The three convicts enter the Hilliard home and take Eleanor hostage. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:
1. Describe how Eleanor responds to the convicts' invasion. Do you think you would respond in a similar fashion? Why or why not?
2. Have you heard of a psychological response to a hostage situation called the "Stockholm Syndrome?" Research about this syndrome and then decide if you think the Hilliard family became that type of hostage. Why or why not?
3. Could Eleanor have done anything differently at the very beginning of this situation so that it did not escalate into a hostage situation? Do you think Eleanor's actions would be different now in the 21st century than when this situation occurs in the 1950s?
Essay Topic 2
During the climatic and final Act 3, both Chuck and Dan have the opportunity to kill one or more of the convicts during all the confusion. Both men choose to hit the convicts rather than shoot to kill. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:
1. Why do you think Dan and Chuck do not try to kill the convicts when they separately have the chance?
2. Do you think Griffin would have actually killed Ralphie if the gun had been loaded? Explain your thoughts with examples.
3. Do you think the average non-criminal citizen would have done the same thing as Dan and Chuck, i.e., disable rather than kill? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 3
Desperate Hours belongs to the genre of drama. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:
1. What do you think is the definition of drama? Write out your definition and then look up the definition in a literary dictionary. How similar are the two definitions?
2. Drama is written with the intention that it will be performed. How do you think this influences the manner in which the plot unfolds, the dialogue, the set complexity, the number of characters, and the length?
3. Compare Desperate Hours to a short story, such as "A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Conner. What are the differences? The similarities? Which do you enjoy reading the most?
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This section contains 557 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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