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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. Where does Artie tell Billy he met Bunny for the first time?

2. What does Bunny accuse Artie of having no sense of at the beginning of Act I?

3. What will be revealed about Artie over time as the play progresses?

4. What is insinuated that Artie will attempt to do as the play unfolds?

5. What is Artie eager for that he expresses to the audience in the beginning of The House of Blue Leaves?

Short Essay Questions

1. Bananas asks Billy to stay with her in the apartment, but what does Billy suggest instead?

2. What is another significant symbol introduced in Act I, Scene I?

3. After Artie tells Bananas about a house he found on the East Coast that she can live in, what is Bananas scared of?

4. What does Artie's casual cruelty toward Bananas signify?

5. In his story, Ronnie explains that Billy came to Queens; what was Billy doing?

6. What is Ronnie's bomb a symbol for?

7. What does the audience learn about in Act II, Scene I, Part I that links all of the characters together in the play?

8. What does Bananas attempt to do in order to alienate Bunny from everyone?

9. Why do the nuns and Ronnie rush to Corrinna when she announces she has two tickets to see the Pope at Yankee Stadium?

10. Where is Ronnie at the opening of Act II, Scene I, Part I?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The longing to be noticed is a thematic element common to characters in American dramatic literature. Compare this among the characters in The House of Blue Leaves to another novel or play you have read that has this same recurring theme. Use specific information and quotes from The House of Blue Leaves, while the other novel/play can be loosely paraphrased.

Essay Topic 2

Artie sets the precedent in the Prologue for talking directly to the audience, which the rest of the characters do throughout the play. Nontraditional in plays until The House of Blue Leaves, discuss the significance of breaking the fourth wall and its significance to this play. Without this tactic, would the play be the same? Use specific information and quotes from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Why is the Pope such a significant, but unseen character in The House of Blue Leaves? What does he symbolize and why are these characters chasing after him? What do they ultimately want? Construct a thesis driven paper using specific information and quotes from the play to support your answer.

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