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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. What does the Duchess bring to the Queen?

2. Who does the African American man refer to himself as?

3. What is symbolic about what the Duchess is losing?

4. What does Sarah claim she used to kill her father?

5. The African-American man reappears in the scene with the Duchess and the Queen. What is he carrying?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Jesus scream at the start of Part 4?

2. Who appears onstage after the lights go out in Part 5 and what does she announce?

3. How does Sarah describe the rooms around her?

4. Describe the set at the opening of Adrienne Kennedy's play.

5. What is significant about the Duchess showing Jesus how to wear his hair?

6. What happened when Sarah's father went to visit her?

7. What hope did the African-American man's father's mother have for him?

8. What is symbolic about the cross in Part 3?

9. Describe the Duchess and Queen Victoria the first time the audience sees them.

10. Where did the African-American man's mother end up?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of the play Sarah is confronted by a statue of Queen Victoria. Who is Queen Victoria? Describe her role in the play? Who is she in real life? Why does this final confrontation result in Sarah's death? Site specific examples from the text to make your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the central conflicts present in Adrienne Kennedy's play. Discuss the importance of this conflict and how it effects one character other then Sarah. How does this conflict help express the theme of racial identity? Site specific examples from the text to make your argument.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the symbolic nature of the hair loss each character experiences. What does the hair loss signify? Why is it important? How do the characters hide their hair loss and what does this concealment mean? Choose two characters and discuss what events cause their hair loss. Site specific examples from the text to make your argument.

(see the answer keys)

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