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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 old is Fonsia's son?

2. How many cards are dealt to the dealer in the gin game?

3. While Weller's face is turning red in frustration, what is Fonsia doing?

4. How did Fonsia get over the 'spells' she had after her divorce?

5. Fonsia wins the first gin game by doing what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Fonsia's childhood suggest about her character?

2. How does the scoring, according to the Hollywood style, work in gin?

3. What about the Presbyterian home threatens both characters?

4. What confession does Weller make about himself as it relates to his interaction with the family of Gladys Mayes?

5. How does Weller's choice of profanity conform to the opening action in Act 1, Scene 2?

6. What does the moment of faintness that Fonsia suffers in Act 1, Scene 2 reveal about the two characters?

7. What does the attire of the two characters suggest about their respective attitudes in Act 1, Scene 1?

8. In Act 1, Scene 1, what does the condition of the stage setting suggest about the financial standing of the residents?

9. What do you think is Weller's opinion of the other residents of the home after reading Act 1, Scene 1?

10. According to Weller, what does he believe drives the staff's constant need to entertain the residents of the home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of death in the play? What do the characters reveal about old age in the way they discuss it?

Essay Topic 2

How do Fonsia's actions and confessions in the later half of the play diverge from the facade of her character in the first half of the play?

Essay Topic 3

Why is Weller so driven to play cards? Why is winning against Fonsia so important for him?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 628 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample