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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What action does the Student take just after the Girl enters the house?
(a) He collapses.
(b) He cries.
(c) He sneezes.
(d) He laughs.

2. At what object will the Dead Man gaze when he emerges from the house, according to the Old Man?
(a) The hyacinth bush.
(b) The lady in black.
(c) The flag flying at half-mast.
(d) The water fountain.

3. The Student asks the Milkmaid to dip what object into the water before washing his eyes with it?
(a) A handkerchief.
(b) A washcloth.
(c) His jacket.
(d) A napkin.

4. What incentive does Johansson name as the one that drives the Old Man?
(a) Power.
(b) Money.
(c) Chaos.
(d) Fun.

5. What aspect of the Student's persona causes the Old Man to ask if the young man knows a Mr. Arkenholtz?
(a) His speech.
(b) His sense of humor.
(c) His expression.
(d) His vulnerability.

Short Answer Questions

1. The Student tells the Old Man that the Mr. Arkenholtz to whom he refers is which member of his family?

2. The Student quips that he had entered the world during what type of "proceedings" (4)?

3. What is revealed to be the Old Man's surname?

4. The Milkmaid carries the milk in baskets made of what material?

5. Whose biological daughter is the Girl?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reaction by the Milkmaid causes the Student to become surprised at the beginning of the play and why?

2. What is the first indication of menace within the Old Man's interactions with the Student?

3. Who is the Dead Man?

4. From the Student's perspective, what does the house at the center of the play symbolize within Act I?

5. What mystery about the Milkmaid remains intact throughout the entirety of Act I and beyond?

6. How does the Old Man first come into contact with the Student in Act I?

7. How does the Student respond to the Old Man's claims about the supposed transgressions committed by the Student's father?

8. What does the Old Man ask of the Student in lieu of the money he claims the Student's father still owes him?

9. Who is the Lady in Black and what is her purpose?

10. In what way does Strindberg use physicality to illustrate the tyranny present within the Old Man's character?

(see the answer keys)

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