View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Father Flynn say has been damaged through no fault of his own as he talks to Sister James in Scene 7?

2. What does Sister Aloysius say has a price toward the end of the play?

3. How many parishes does Sister Aloysius discover Father Flynn has been assigned to in the past five years?

4. While delivering a sermon in Scene 6, how many of his audience did Father Flynn say had gossiped?

5. What does Sister Aloysius tell Father Flynn caused her to be watchful of him from the first day of school?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Scene 7, what indications does Sister James give that she takes Father Flynn's sermons very seriously?

2. Why does Mrs. Muller say that it was Donald who was punished for drinking the wine instead of Father Flynn being punished for giving it to him?

3. When Father Flynn comes to Sister Aloysius' office in the second part of Scene 8, why does she tell him he can't come in?

4. What happened to Father Flynn after he left St. Nicholas?

5. What shocks Sister James about Sister Aloysius' call to Father Flynn's prior parish?

6. In Scene 7, why does Father Flynn say that the truth makes for a poor sermon?

7. In Scene 8, why does Mrs. Muller think she may have come to Sister Aloysius' office on the wrong day?

8. What causes the woman in Father Flynn's sermon to feel guilty about gossiping?

9. What does Father Flynn say is wrong about Sister Aloysius contacting his prior parish?

10. In Father Flynn's sermon, what point is Father O'Rourke trying to make about gossip when he instructs the gossipy woman to pick up every last feather?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Doubt: A Parable contains several instances of symbolism, such as Father Flynn's fingernails, the crows harassing Father Flynn, the pruning of the rosebush, etc. Choose two symbols from the play. Discuss what each of them represents and provide evidence from the play.

Essay Topic 2

The Catholic church is almost a character unto itself in Doubt: A Parable. Describe how the church hierarchy affects the characters and plot of the play. How do the nuns and priests interact with each other? If they were not governed by the church, how might the story have ended differently? Provide evidence from the play to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Why does the author use the narrative technique of parables more than once in the play? What purpose does this repetition serve? Why is the play itself a parable? What characteristics of a parable does it have and what is the intended lesson?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 814 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample