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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. How do the figures that Emperor Jones sees in the forest move?

2. What does Smithers talk to the old woman about in the first scene?

3. What does Emperor Jones' flight recall to him?

4. What is the basis for Smithers' authority in the palace?

5. Where have all the natives gone when the play is just beginning?

Short Essay Questions

1. Before he sees Jeff, Emperor Jones surveys himself and assesses his plight. How does he feel about his situation?

2. How does Emperor Jones' appearance change in the third forest scene?

3. What is the significance of Emperor Jones' clothing in the fifth forest scene?

4. What effect do the formless fears have on Emperor Jones?

5. How well prepared is Emperor Jones for the experience of fleeing the palace?

6. Describe the setting for the first scene of the play.

7. Describe Emperor Jones' state of mind at the beginning of the third forest scene.

8. What is the cue for the formless fears to appear?

9. Describe the apparition Emperor Jones sees in the sixth forest scene.

10. What irony does Smithers point out in the final scene?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Henry Smithers is the only white man in the play, and the witch doctor and Lem and the old woman in the first scene are the only natives with speaking roles. Compare and contrast the roles of the white and black characters. How are they the same? How are they different? What difference does skin color make in this play? What can Smithers do that the natives cannot, and vice versa? Are these characters presented as individuals, or as typifying their respective races?

Essay Topic 2

Emperor Jones makes a lot of money by ruling over the natives, but he is killed by money as well in the form of melted down silver coins. How does money appear in the play? What does it buy? What can it not buy? Are there other forms of exchange that use a different currency?

Essay Topic 3

Citing specific instances from the text, describe three literary devices O'Neill uses in Emperor Jones. These might include foreshadowing, characterization, symbolism, dialect, metaphor, etc. How does the literary device appear in the play? How does it enhance the plot, building the play toward a crisis and then resolving that crisis?

(see the answer keys)

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