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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. Sister Aloysius says the heart must be warm, but the ___ must be cold.

2. What does Father Flynn say the boys must do at the free throw line?

3. In his first sermon, what does Father Flynn say can be as powerful and sustaining as certainty?

4. In Scene 4, what does Sister Aloysius say she thinks Monsignor Benedict does not know?

5. What happens to the ship in the parable of the sailor told by Father Flynn in Scene 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Father Flynn tell the boys about his childhood acquaintance Timmy Mathisson?

2. In Scene 2, what does Sister Aloysius refer to when she says that every easy choice today has a consequence tomorrow?

3. Why does Father Flynn say it is okay for him to wear his nails a little long?

4. Why does Father Flynn compare the sailor's despair to a crisis of faith?

5. Why does Sister Aloysius say she cannot afford an excessively innocent teacher?

6. Why does Sister Aloysius say she cannot close her eyes to the situation with Father Flynn and Donald Muller?

7. Why does Father Flynn say even in individual doubt, one is not alone?

8. Why is Sister Aloysius anxious at the beginning of Scene 5?

9. In Scene 5, when Father Flynn says that the sound of the wind must have been very lonely in frontier days, under what circumstance does Sister Aloysius say it would be lonely?

10. What is Father Flynn's relationship with the boys on the basketball team like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Father Flynn innocent or guilty? Write an essay stating your opinion and using evidence from the play to support your thoughts.

Essay Topic 2

Several times throughout the play we see characters performing typical daily routines, such as pruning a rosebush, listening to the radio, or talking to a basketball team. Yet not a word in this play is wasted. Each action is meant to reveal something about the characters. Write and essay examining two routine actions seen in the play and discuss what they reveal about the character performing them.

Essay Topic 3

How do Father Flynn's views on doubt, as seen is his sermon on doubt delivered in Scene 1, differ from the actual consequences of doubt as shown through the actions of the play? Use specific examples from the play to support your ideas.

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