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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 Carreon not want to play golf in Scene 12?

2. What term does Joey explain in Scene 10?

3. Who does Romeo claim to be friends with in Scene 6?

4. What is the name of the club that Pucha and Rio plan to visit in Scene 9?

5. Who originated the term Joey explains in Scene 10?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is a dogeater?

2. How is Joey Sands introduced in Scene 4?

3. In Scene 1, what is imparted to the audience through radio clips?

4. What does Rio think about the Manila she has returned to?

5. Who is golfing in Scene 12?

6. What state is Joey in when he enters in Scene 10?

7. What is peculiar about the tryst between Trini and Romeo in Scene 15?

8. What role does a real historical figure play in Scene 10?

9. How does Imelda Marcos defend herself in Scene 11?

10. How does Pucha treat the waiter in Scene 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the character of Rio and how she is a surrogate. What similarities exist between Jessica Hagedorn's biography and Rio's? How is the audience's understanding of the situation in the Philippines also similar to Rio's? In what ways does Rio ask the questions of Philippine society that we too would ask?

Essay Topic 2

The country of the Philippines is the primary character of Dogeaters, and it undergoes many changes as a political climate turns bloody. Write a three part essay about the transition the Philippines undergoes:

Part 1) Describe the Philippines at the beginning of the play. How do the Marcoses rule it, and what is the coal structure like? Discuss how the colonial history of the country has shaped Philippine society.

Part 2) The catalyzing event of Dogeaters is the murder of Senator Avila. Why is Avila murdered? How does the populace respond to the assassination? Discuss if and how Philippine society is changed by this upheaval.

Part 3) Discuss the state of the Philippines at the end of the play. What has changes in the sociopolitical climate, and what is the same as it was before? What cumulative effect did the coup have?

Essay Topic 3

Dogeaters is a sweeping narrative, and it is a play, allowing it many devices to impart information. Write an essay about the use of dramatic devices to impart information to the audience/reader:

Part 1) Discuss the framing device of the play. What is the function of Barbara and Nestor, both as individuals and as devices in the plot? How does the radio drama alter the tone of the play?

Part 2) Write an analysis of the sexual montage that occurs near the end of Act I. Which characters in the play are involved? Do any of them enjoy themselves? How does Hagedorn interweave the different sexual encounters?

Part 3) Discuss the use of monologue in the play. When characters speak directly to the audience, what do they impart? Are they covering narrative, adding emotional nuance, or both? Does the monologue affect the flow of the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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